Educators urge largest teachers union in US to rescind support for Biden until 'permanent cease-fire' in Gaza
Some educators are urging the largest teachers union in the country to rescind its support for President Biden until a "permanent cease-fire" occurs in Gaza.
Some educators are urging the largest teachers union in the U.S. to rescind its support for President Biden until a "permanent cease-fire" occurs in Gaza.
According to The Nation, teachers are organizing to urge the National Education Association, an organization of over 3 million members, to rescind its support for Biden’s re-election after first announcing it last April.
Rahaf Othman, a 45-year-old Palestinian American and social studies teacher, told The Nation that she was "distraught" to find out about the Israel-Palestinian conflict that started with the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7.
She explained further that the matter is personal because "our union has been very focused on racial and social justice, and supporting him when he is not only funding but also sending weapons killing my people sends me the message that we don’t matter, and that we are collateral damage and that’s OK."
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Othman, a member of the Illinois Education Association (IEA) Local 218, said she joined the effort to sway the NEA to drop its endorsement for Biden until he "secures a permanent cease-fire," The Nation reported.
Even a member of the NEA board of directors is joining the engagement.
They report further that teachers are calling for the U.S. to end "sending military funding, equipment, and intelligence to Israel" and commit "to a fair due process for asylum-seekers and refugees."
The Nation described the effort as a "small-but-growing campaign in the US labor movement."
"For the first month, people were asking me what we should do, but I couldn’t think, couldn’t focus," Othman told the Nation.
"Educators rallied together and created this group, Educators for Palestine. I am grateful they brought me along for the ride."
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The teachers go further by planning to withhold voluntary donations from the union’s political action committee "until NEA takes this step." Members are not planning to withhold union dues, however.
As the effort is in its early stages of development, the outlook of potential support is not yet realized, though The Nation reported that the supporters are noticing "momentum."
They added the group of members pushed 19 local, state, and regional bodies of the NEA to pass resolutions calling for a cease-fire in Gaza and claim credit for NEA President Rebecca Pringle’s tweet in support of a cease-fire.
While members work on building the movement's support, NEA members are planning to protest alongside the American Federation of Teachers at an NEA board meeting in February.
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The effort comes after Pringle announced that they are recommending Biden and Vice President Harris "continue their leadership in prioritizing America’s students, educators, and public schools as the Democratic nominees for re-election."
The NEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.