Let’s not lose the plot.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has done real, impactful work in American schools and communities for decades. Its No Place for Hate program, in particular, has helped foster safer, more inclusive environments for thousands of students — a rare example of values-based education that transcends partisan lines. Walking away from that work isn’t a principled stand. It’s a disservice to the children the National Education Association (NEA) claims to represent.
Yet that’s exactly what the NEA — the country’s largest teachers’ union — has begun to do, with a vote to sever ties with the ADL. Their grievance? The ADL’s defense of Israel.
This is where things get messy. On one hand, it’s absurd to toss out school programming that’s protected LGBTQ students, addressed bullying, and fought antisemitism — all because of disagreements over geopolitics. The No Place for Hate curriculum isn’t Likud propaganda. It’s about respect, empathy, and civil society.
On the other hand, the ADL hasn’t made it easy to defend itself. In recent years, it has blurred the lines between antisemitism and political disagreement, often labeling even measured critiques of Israel as hateful or dangerous. As a liberal Zionist, I regularly criticize the Israeli government — for its treatment of Palestinians, for democratic backsliding, for the toxic coalition currently in power. That doesn’t make me antisemitic. And it certainly shouldn’t put me at odds with an organization allegedly committed to nuance and truth.
Unfortunately, nuance seems to be in short supply. The ADL has embraced a definition of antisemitism so expansive that it risks discrediting the very real threat of antisemitism itself. Yes, antisemitic hate crimes are rising. Yes, Jewish communities are under threat. But when every protest, every slogan, every expression of solidarity with Palestinians is reflexively categorized as hate, we lose the ability to distinguish danger from dissent.
The problem isn’t the crime data — if anything, the numbers undercount what Jews are facing. The issue is what gets added on top: self-reported incidents that include things like criticism of Israel in a college seminar, or a student waving a Palestinian flag. The ADL often includes these in their reports without enough discernment, diluting the urgency of real threats and undermining their own credibility.
And this credibility matters. Because there is real antisemitism embedded in anti-Zionist discourse: when people claim Jews have no right to self-determination, when Israel is uniquely demonized, or when conspiracies about global Jewish power resurface in anti-Israel activism. That deserves to be called out — forcefully. But to do so, you need moral clarity. You need to distinguish between a swastika and a slogan, between hatred and politics.
Which brings us back to the NEA.
The NEA is no stranger to overreach — this is the same union that recently passed a raft of overtly partisan, anti-MAGA resolutions while insisting on political neutrality in the classroom. Now, they’re considering cutting ties with the ADL for not being politically pure enough. The irony is rich: in rejecting the ADL’s rigid litmus test on antisemitism, they’ve adopted one of their own on Zionism. Neither approach serves students. Both are symptoms of a culture where moral absolutism beats out practical decency every time.
It’s not too late for either group to course-correct.
The NEA should reaffirm its commitment to fighting hate in schools, even when it comes from unexpected places. That includes working with organizations like the ADL — not because they’re perfect, but because they’ve done good work that matters.
And the ADL should get back to basics. Focus on what it does best: tracking real hate, educating with integrity, and standing up for Jewish safety without confusing that with political agreement. We don’t need a watchdog that cries wolf. We need one that knows what a wolf actually looks like.
Because if we keep burning bridges like this, the only ones left standing will be the ones built by extremists — and they don’t care about schools, truth, or Jewish safety at all.