(Portland, OR – June 30, 2025 ) — The K-12 Fairness Center, a division of StandWithUs, will lead a peaceful rally outside the National Education Association (NEA) Representative Assembly on July 2 to support Jewish educators, students, and allies across the country. The rally is a direct response to mounting concerns over antisemitic rhetoric, symbolism, and policies that have repeatedly emerged at NEA events and in affiliated local unions. The rally will be held at the park across the street from the Portland Convention Center from 4:30-6:30pm.
This year’s demonstration follows years of troubling patterns at the Representative Assembly, where openly antisemitic and anti-Israel New Business Items (NBIs) have been introduced, debated, and sometimes adopted. These efforts—driven by political caucuses such as Educators for Palestine—have sought to entrench extreme ideological positions that many in K-12 education see as threatening, alienating, and profoundly out of step with the values of public education.
“Too many Jewish teachers now view the NEA not as a professional home, but as a hostile environment where their identity is questioned and their safety disregarded,” said David Smokler , Executive Director of the K-12 Fairness Center. “This rally is our way of saying: Jewish educators belong here too, and we will not allow them to be pushed to the margins of their own profession.”
The concern extends beyond the annual national gathering. In recent years, local NEA-affiliated unions and educator groups across the country have attempted to inject anti-Israel and antisemitic materials into classroom curricula, often under the banner of ethnic studies or social justice education. This politicization has led to increasing marginalization of Jewish students, teachers, and families in K–12 schools nationwide.
2024 ’s NEA Assembly in Philadelphia featured especially alarming incidents, including masked demonstrators carrying the flag of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Inside the convention hall, materials seen as provocative and hostile to Jewish identity were openly distributed. These acts, educators say, cross a line from political expression into intimidation.
“Educators must be held to a higher standard,” said Randy Kessler , Regional Director of StandWithUs Northwest. “When a professional association allows antisemitism to go unchecked, it is not only failing its Jewish members—it is betraying its mission to foster inclusive, respectful educational environments for all.”
Given the rise in antisemitic attacks nationwide—and the cowardly assaults on peaceful Jewish gatherings over the past year—private security will be present at the event to ensure the safety and dignity of all attendees. The rally will proceed peacefully, rooted in the belief that Jewish educators deserve the same respect and inclusion as any other community within the NEA.
ABOUT STANDWITHUS
StandWithUs (SWU) is a 23-year-old international non-partisan education organization that inspires people of all ages about Israel, challenges misinformation and fights against antisemitism.
StandWithUs empowers people around the world to educate others through social media, print and digital materials in different languages, through educational programs and conferences, weekly newsletters, data and analytics, and missions to Israel.
It takes legal action through the StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department. It empowers hundreds of student leaders annually through its college Fellowship and high school Internship. SWU provides schools and educators with vital tools through its IsraelLINK middle school program, Holocaust Education Center, and K-12 Fairness Center.
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Los Angeles, StandWithUs has chapters throughout the U.S., Israel, Canada, the UK, Brazil, Argentina, the Netherlands, Australia and South Africa.
For the last fourteen years, StandWithUs has consistently received the highest possible ratings from Charity Navigator and GuideStar, two charity watchdog groups that assess over a million charities in the United States. This puts StandWithUs in the top 3% of charities ranked for their transparency and accountability.
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