The National Education Association sent its 3 million members an email Friday containing a map that erased Israel and labeled the territory as Palestine.
North American Values Institute said the email provided teachers with resources for “teaching about indigenous peoples” that included the map along with materials defending Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and links to organizations that “glorify terrorism,” Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) reported.
“It’s deeply troubling that the nation’s largest teachers’ union would promote materials trafficking in antisemitic tropes and attempts to rationalize the atrocities of Oct. 7, let alone elevate groups that glorify terrorism,” Steve Rosenberg, Philadelphia regional director for the institute, told the JNS. (RELATED: Top House Democrat Praises Trump’s Israel-Hamas Deal)
Did the NEA forget something? The union sent its members an article featuring a world map that erased Israel. This is not a simple oversight, but a shocking act that denies both history and present reality.
Educators should be teaching facts, not rewriting them. pic.twitter.com/YoO7nnozHF
— ADL (@ADL) October 10, 2025
The union removed the materials from its resource site after the discovery. Rosenberg criticized the quiet deletion as lacking transparency. “The NEA owes educators, parents and the public a full explanation and a sincere apology,” Rosenberg said, the outlet reported.
While the union scrubbed most offensive content, a “Native Land Digital” map remains on the site that labels Israel as “Palestine” and describes Palestinians as “indigenous” to the land.
An NEA spokesperson blamed a third party for the content and said the union has “always opposed antisemitism.”
“After we became aware of content on this website — particularly related to Israel and Palestine — we conducted our own deeper review including links to additional third-party hosted content. Upon review, we immediately removed it from the website,” the spokesperson told the New York Post.
The Anti-Defamation League, which the NEA cut ties with last summer, criticized the union on X. “This is not a simple oversight, but a shocking act that denies both history and present reality,” the ADL posted.
