By: Fern Sidman

The National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest teachers’ union, is facing mounting criticism following the release of its 2025 official handbook, which has drawn intense scrutiny for omitting any mention of Jews in its description of the Holocaust and for promoting what many observers consider overtly anti-Israel narratives. The handbook, distributed to nearly 3 million union members nationwide, has ignited backlash from Jewish advocacy groups, educators, and political leaders who accuse the NEA of engaging in historical erasure and ideological partisanship under the guise of inclusive pedagogy.

As reported by VIN News on Wednesday, the controversy centers on a passage in the handbook that describes the Holocaust as a genocide in which “over 12 million victims… from different faiths” were murdered. Nowhere in the document is there a reference to Jews as the primary target of the Nazi regime, despite the well-documented and systematic attempt to annihilate the Jewish people during World War II. Historians have long recognized that the Holocaust–the Shoah–was the unprecedented, industrial-scale effort by Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich to exterminate European Jewry, resulting in the deaths of approximately 6 million Jews.

The omission of this fact in a resource directed at American educators has, according to the report at VIN News, provoked widespread concern and condemnation. Jewish leaders and Holocaust educators argue that the NEA’s framing of the Holocaust represents not merely a factual oversight, but a troubling departure from historical truth with far-reaching educational and cultural consequences.

“The failure to name Jews as the victims of Hitler’s Final Solution is more than a rhetorical lapse–it is a dangerous rewriting of history,” one Holocaust studies expert told VIN News. “When you remove the central truth of a genocide, you obscure its moral and historical lessons.”

In addition to the Holocaust-related concerns, the NEA handbook devotes substantial space to advancing controversial political positions regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to the information provided in the VIN News report, the document champions the teaching of “Nakba” history in K-12 classrooms, describing the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 as the “forced, violent displacement” of 750,000 Palestinians. The Nakba–or “catastrophe,” as it is referred to in Arabic–is a term used by Palestinian nationalists to frame the events surrounding Israel’s founding exclusively through the lens of victimhood and loss.

Critics have expressed alarm that the NEA has uncritically adopted this narrative while excluding any mention of the geopolitical context of Israel’s creation, including the rejection of the 1947 UN Partition Plan by Arab states, the subsequent war launched against the fledgling Jewish state, and the widespread Jewish displacement from Arab countries in the ensuing years. As VIN News reported, Jewish organizations view this selective portrayal as a form of historical revisionism that risks fostering bias and misunderstanding among students.

The NEA handbook further asserts that “anti-Zionism is not antisemitism,” a claim that has become increasingly divisive in educational and political circles. While the distinction is frequently cited by critics of Israeli policy, many Jewish groups and scholars argue that anti-Zionism, particularly in its current manifestations, often functions as a proxy for antisemitism by denying the Jewish people the right to national self-determination. This assertion by the NEA appears to align the union with fringe ideological positions rather than mainstream historical or legal consensus.

Adding to the controversy is the handbook’s strong defense of what it terms “free speech in defense of Palestine.” In the current climate–marked by rising incidents of antisemitism in public schools and college campuses–many interpret the handbook’s language as an implicit endorsement of protests and expressions that have, in some cases, crossed the line into hate speech or incitement. VIN News has documented numerous cases over the past year in which Jewish students and faculty have faced intimidation, vandalism, and harassment tied to their real or perceived support for Israel.

This is not the first time the NEA has waded into contentious territory over issues relating to Israel and the Jewish community. As VIN News previously reported, a resolution was introduced earlier this year at the NEA’s Representative Assembly to boycott the Anti-Defamation League’s Holocaust education materials, arguing they were too closely tied to “Zionist narratives.” Though the motion was ultimately rejected by union leadership, critics say the new handbook adopts much of the same ideological framing advanced in the proposed resolution.

In response to the handbook, Jewish advocacy groups and some public officials have called for the NEA to revise its language and reassert a commitment to accurate, inclusive historical education. “Education must be grounded in truth, not political agendas,” one state legislator told VIN News. “Erasing the Jewish experience from Holocaust history while endorsing anti-Israel talking points undermines the very principles of pluralism and intellectual honesty that public education is supposed to uphold.”

Meanwhile, educators within the NEA have also begun to voice discomfort. Several Jewish teachers contacted by VIN News expressed a sense of betrayal, noting that the union–which purports to represent the diverse views and identities of its membership–had taken a stance that alienates and marginalizes Jewish professionals.

One longtime public school teacher and NEA member, speaking on condition of anonymity, told VIN News, “This is not what I signed up for. I believe in justice and inclusion, but the union is now pushing a political line that disregards the facts of history and the safety of Jewish students and staff.”

The broader implications of the NEA’s position remain to be seen. With curriculum battles already intensifying across the country over issues such as critical race theory, gender identity, and ethnic studies, the controversy over the 2025 handbook is likely to further inflame the national conversation about the politicization of education. According to the information contained in the VIN News report, some states are already reviewing the NEA’s materials to determine whether their use in public schools may conflict with local standards or legislative mandates on Holocaust and civics education.

For its part, the NEA has not issued a formal response to the backlash. However, union representatives have previously argued that their educational resources are meant to “center marginalized voices” and encourage “critical engagement with difficult histories.” Whether those goals are compatible with the omissions and narratives found in the 2025 handbook remains at the heart of the ongoing debate.

For many observers, the NEA’s 2025 handbook represents more than just a misstep in language–it marks a potentially seismic shift in the way one of America’s most influential educational organizations frames history, identity, and justice in the classroom.