The Hamassachusetts Teachers Association Strikes Again
Our teachers union and its leader finally caught the eye of the state legislators for all the wrong reasons. Let us delve into their pile of revolting antisemitic and violent propaganda.
Remember the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA)? Yes, the largest labor union in New England, responsible for the infamous “Anti-Palestinian Racism” webinar, where they claimed the world is controlled by a sinister Zionist cabal and there is absolutely no historical connection between the Jews and Israel. The same organization that abolished the MCAS high school graduation requirement rather than admit shortcomings in their teaching. And let’s not forget their leader, "Max and facts just don't go together" Page, who once declared:
The focus on income, on college and career readiness speaks to a system … tied to the capitalist class and its needs for profit. We, on the other hand, have as a core belief that the purpose of schools must be to nurture thinking, caring, active and committed adults, parents, community members, activists, citizens…
[P]ublic education must be reconceived [sic.] from scratch…
-Max Page, Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, August 2022.
Page wasn’t talking about himself. He’s a UMass Amherst professor focused on college and career readiness. But we digress.
The MTA is back in the spotlight!
The Free Press recently published an article titled “Welcome to Hamassachusetts,” stating that:
“ ‘Rampant and ubiquitous antisemitism’ is making its way into the largest teachers union in New England, lawmakers say.”
They’re wrong. Antisemitism isn’t “making its way” to the MTA. It’s been festering there for years. It only came to light after recent events exposed educational materials previously hidden from public view.
A hearing on antisemitism in public schools was recently held by the Massachusetts State House, led by State Sen. John Velis and State Rep. Simon Cataldo, co-chairs of the state’s Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism. They questioned Max Page about content from the MTA website’s members-only section titled “Resources on Israel and Occupied Palestine.” The website is a treasure trove of questionable materials. Take, for example, a poster titled “The Dollar” from a series named “100 Revolutionary Posters Created over the past 50 years in support of a Free Palestine”. The poster shows two dollar bills folded in the shape of a star of David.
Cataldo, who is Jewish, asked Page, “You’d agree this is antisemitic imagery, correct?” Page, also Jewish and known to hide behind his heritage to deflect accusations of bias, batted his eyelashes and replied, “What?! Why would you say that… Hey, look! A squirrel!”. He then added, “We provide imagery, we provide resources for our members to consider, in their own intelligent, professional way.”
Intelligent? Professional? We highly doubt it. We explored the MTA members-only section ourselves. Our membership dues still fund Page’s union mafia, so why not put the money to good use for a change?
The landing page pretends to offer balance:
“The impact of the war between Israel and Hamas, and the terrible loss of Palestinian and Israeli life, has been deeply felt throughout our union. The resources reflect diverse positions and are meant to aid pedagogy.”
“Diverse”? Only if you count everything between mildly pro-Palestinian and overtly antisemitic and pro-terror. The pro-Israel content is laughably sparse. There’s the Anti-Defamation League’s definition of Zionism, placed after the anti-Zionist “Jewish” Voices for Peace definition. Similarly, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s definition of antisemitism follows the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s definition of Islamophobia. A single book on Zionism by Israeli historian Anita Shapira is buried under five overtly anti-Zionist books by the likes of Edward Said, Norman Finkelstein and Ilan Pappé.
The section links to a couple of progressive but not completely anti-Zionist groups like Standing Together and the New Israel Fund. In contrast, it features numerous pro-Palestinian, anti-Zionist, anti-Israel and even pro-terror resources. Some of them openly promote antisemitic tropes and even proscribed terrorist organizations like Hamas and the Marxist-Leninist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Other people, less lazy than ourselves, crunched the numbers: Out of the 89 resources listed by the MTA, 67 characterize Israel as an illegitimate state and/or reduce a complex conflict to allegations of wrongful occupation. Only two are aligned with the Israel’s narrative. The other links discuss other related topics.
To quote Sen. Velis:
“If I had no interest in this region of the world, and just read the 89-plus documents that have been put forth, I’ll be very candid with you, I’d finish that and I would say, ‘Wow, those Jewish people are tough,’”
Why would he think that? Perhaps because of “The Dollar” shown above? Or the poster that says “Zionists f*** off,” or the one portraying former President Biden as a serial killer?
Watching Page stumble through questions about the lack of diverse perspectives was painful. When pressed to face the consequences of his own union’s actions, he cycled between refusing to answer questions, stumbling all over himself with excuses and formulaic answers, and eventually erupting into a hissy fit of “whataboutism,” deflecting to complaints about the ADL and Elon Musk.
Cue the world’s smallest violin.
Following the hearing, Page and his cronies feigned horror at their supposed “inquisition,” implying coordinated attacks from far-right groups. The problem? Sen. Velis and Rep. Cataldo are Democrats, like most of the Massachusetts legislature and voters. It is not surprising, since cries about “far-right attacks” is a well known and lazy tactic used by far-left activists unwilling to face their own biases and shortcomings.
Page once again demonstrated his lack of depth, nuance, or accountability. Those qualities, after all, require a working brain and a functioning conscience.
For those who made it this far, here’s a bonus: additional posters, most were not shown at the hearing but are available on the MTA website. There’s much more where it came from.
Some poster call for a ceasefire but others, like this one, issued by the Marxist-Leninist terror group PFLP, want to topple Israel, the USA, and peace.
Indeed, many posters openly advocate for a violent struggle:
There is also the inverted red triangle, used by Hamas to mark Israeli targets.
Everything is free Palestine… including reproductive justice.
From the river to the sea, Palestine… is Arab (this is the Arabic version. We thank an Arabic speaking reader for the translation):
The poster above, the one below and many others in the series, casually annex the Golan Heights, claimed by Syria, into Palestine. Does the new Syrian regime approve?
We saved the best for last. This pièce de résistance offers a surreal blend of Holocaust and Palestinian imagery, including anti-Nazi rebels and Palestinian groups, featuring terrorist and plane hijacker Leila Khaled on the bottom right. It is bizarrely titled “L’Chaim Intifada”. Draw your own conclusions next time you send your kids to school.
L’Chaim!
WTF. Outrageous libel and propaganda paid for with my hard earned dues. Infuriating. Time for a split in the union? The Chicago Teachers Union had an upstart group (CORE) take over in the early 2000's. It's past time for change in the MTA!