Jewish Federations of New Jersey counter Islamic council’s claim
NEA did not approve ending its educational relationship with the ADL
Earlier this week, the Jewish Federations of New Jersey reached out to public-school administrators throughout the state to set the record straight. That was in response the Council on American-Islamic Relations-New Jersey circulating a letter about the National Education Association’s relationship with the Anti-Defamation League that JFNJ described as “deeply misleading.”
In a July 9 letter addressed to the state and municipal boards of education, CAIR-NJ commended “the recent decision by the NEA to end its affiliation with the Anti-Defamation League” and urged the boards to “take similar action” and remove “ADL-produced materials” from the “public education system.”
While delegates at the NEA’s 2025 Representative Assembly, which was held in Portland, Oregon, from July 3 to July 7, did in fact vote “to forward a recommendation to the NEA Executive Committee that the NEA not use, endorse, or publicize materials from the ADL,” according to a statement released by the NEA on July 14, the vote did not result in a decision by the organization. Instead, it triggered “an automatic referral to the NEA Executive Committee in accordance with NEA rules on sanctions and boycotts.” The delegates were informed that the decision would be referred to the executive committee when the vote took place, the statement continued.
Following a review by its executive committee, the NEA “determined that this proposal would not further NEA’s commitment to academic freedom, our membership, or our goals.” Its board of directors voted not to implement the proposal, according to a July 18 statement.
JFNJ’s letter, which was signed by the CEOs of the state’s five Jewish federations, described the CAIR-NJ letter’s claim as “inaccurate” and a “deeply misleading characterization,” citing NEA’s July 18 statement.
According to the JFNJ letter, “[a]s part of its mission, JFNJ supports safe, inclusive and hate-free learning environments” and “offers school districts across the state a wide range of educational resources that … address antisemitism and other forms of hate.” Some of those resources are written by the ADL; the letter describes the group as “a respected national anti-hate organization with a decades-long record of promoting inclusive education and combating bias in all forms.
“The ADL’s anti-bias education programs continue to be widely regarded as vital tools in promoting equity and countering hate in school environments,” the JFNJ letter continues. “Singling out educational material that addresses all forms of bias sourced from a venerable Jewish organization contradicts the very values of inclusivity, equity, and mutual respect for all that our schools strive to uphold.”
The JFNJ letter goes on to urge districts to “continue utilizing the educational resources we provide, including those from ADL,” and adds that these tools are “more essential than ever in an era of rising antisemitism, racism, and other forms of bigotry across the country.”
David Barkey, who directs the Jewish Community Relations Committee (JCRC) at the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, sees the CAIR-NJ letter as significantly undermining CAIR-NJ’s credibility. The organization reached out to school administrators “representing that NEA had severed ties with ADL, and that simply wasn’t the case,” Mr. Barkey said. “The measure passed on a voice vote but that wasn’t a decision by NEA. The fact of the matter is, NEA rejected this. It hasn’t severed any ties with ADL,” and the July 18 NEA statement “has some pretty strong language about combating anti-Semitism. [CAIR-NJ’s letter] is a blatant misrepresentation of what NEA did and it impugns their credibility.
“CAIR is one of the leading opponents of the proposed IHRA bill,” a proposal to codify a state definition of antisemitism based on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition, Mr. Barkey continued. The IHRA standard is widely recognized and has been endorsed by 46 countries and 37 U.S. states.
“Their leading talking point is that the bill somehow infringes on free speech. It doesn’t. It deals with conduct and the legislation itself has clear First Amendment safeguards. If they’re not credible on this issue with NEA, it impugns their credibility” on their First Amendment claims too.
The proposed IHRA legislation was introduced in the state Assembly a couple of years ago and was brought before an Assembly committee for what was scheduled to be a hearing and vote on June 23. That vote was canceled shortly before the hearing began. The bill was scheduled for a hearing and vote in a different committee on Thursday, July 24.
A state Senate committee approved a similar bill in June 2024. “We’re hopeful that the committee will unanimously vote in favor of the bill and that the bill will go to the floor of the Assembly and the Senate,” Mr. Barkey said.
“It’s pretty clear NEA took no action with regard to ADL,” he added. It’s also clear that the language of the proposed legislation “protects First Amendment rights. Nobody would be punished for expressing their free speech. The bill deals with assessing motive in hate crimes and with acts of discrimination.” It deals “with conduct, not speech.
“It’s a matter of the conduct of an organization,” he concluded. “For whatever reason, CAIR-NJ saw fit to make a misrepresentation to New Jersey public schools to promote their agenda, and CAIR-NJ has taken a leading role in opposing the bill. If they’re willing to misrepresent about something as black and white as whether the NEA did or didn’t do something, maybe they’re doing the same when it comes to the IHRA bill.”
Linda Scherzer, who directs the Jewish Community Relations Council at the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest, also found the CAIR-NJ letter concerning. “CAIR took a recommendation that was passed by a slim majority of the NEA membership and tried to extract a promise from school districts, from boards of education, to sever their own ties with the ADL,” Ms. Scherzer said. “I think we all know that the ADL combats antisemitism and hate in all its forms, directed at every minority, at any community, including the Muslim community.
“It was a misleading letter,” she continued. “And it’s an example of CAIR trying to sow division in the state of New Jersey.
“We all live together in this state. Our children are learning together in the same classrooms. And the example that’s being set by CAIR — trying to take down an organization that spreads understanding and education about what hate looks like and how to confront it, trying to take these materials out of schools — is just really disturbing. It’s sowing division and taking it to the schools.”