The nation’s largest teachers union, the National Education Association (NEA), has come under fire after releasing a 2025 handbook that removes any reference to Jewish victims of the Holocaust. The document refers only to “more than 12 million victims” across categories like “faiths, ethnicities, races, political beliefs, genders, gender identification, abilities/disabilities,” without a single mention of the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis.
The NEA represents nearly three million public school educators. Its annual handbook outlines policy and educational guidance across the U.S. In its section on Holocaust remembrance, the document entirely omits Jewish identity, instead promoting a generalized, intersectional victim narrative. The move follows growing pressure within the union to distance itself from Jewish organizations and promote pro-Palestinian messaging.
Earlier this month, the NEA’s Representative Assembly voted in favor of a resolution to boycott the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and its Holocaust education materials. Though NEA leadership ultimately declined to adopt the boycott, the removal of Jewish references in its official handbook reflects the union’s radical shift.
Critics argue the erasure is a deliberate act of historical revisionism. Jewish advocacy groups and conservative commentators condemned the union’s decision, warning it undermines accurate Holocaust education and fuels the rise in antisemitism. In 2025, the ADL reported a record surge in antisemitic incidents across American schools and campuses.
Adding to the controversy, the NEA handbook includes a reference to the “Nakba,” a term used by anti-Israel activists to describe the founding of the state of Israel as a catastrophe. The handbook encourages teachers to educate students on this narrative, further cementing the union’s ideological pivot.
The backlash from educators, parents, and community leaders is growing. Jewish organizations are demanding the NEA revise the handbook and reaffirm the historical record that Jews were the primary targets of the Holocaust. Calls are also mounting for state education departments to reconsider their partnerships with the union.
The NEA has not issued a formal apology or correction. Meanwhile, concerns over politicized curricula in public schools continue to rise, as more parents demand education rooted in fact, not ideology.
