Massachusetts Teachers Association says it will take down 'antisemitic, offensive' images after major blowback

Rick Sobey, Boston Herald on Feb 19, 2025

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The Massachusetts Teachers Association is apparently backing down a bit.

After the union dug in following a viral State House hearing when the MTA president was grilled by the Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism, the teachers union said it will be taking down links to sites containing “antisemitic, offensive” images.

Groups and elected officials had been calling for the teachers union’s leaders to pull the plug on these optional educational resources about the Israel-Hamas war.

Among the “Resources on Israel and Occupied Palestine” for MTA members were posters that glorify violence against Israelis, depict Israelis as snakes, and show a Star of David made out of dollar bills. The materials also feature a children’s workbook that calls Zionists “bullies.”

The MTA had compiled the materials to “help educators engage with their students on this crucial and difficult topic,” according to the resource sheet distributed to MTA members.

“The images on the Massachusetts Teachers Association website were antisemitic, offensive and never should have been shared in the first place,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement. “I spoke to MTA leadership about my concerns and am glad they will be removing the images — that should be done immediately.

“I understand the importance of making sure teachers and educators have guidance for how to discuss this complex issue,” the governor added. “That’s why it was important for these images to be removed so that everyone can come together to determine how to accurately and appropriately address this topic moving forward. I want to thank the members of Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism for their commitment and dedication on this issue, and that important work continues.”

MTA President Max Page and VP Deb McCarthy on Wednesday released a statement about the resources being removed.

“As trusted educators, MTA members would never want to have antisemitic materials on the MTA website, and the MTA does not promote materials that direct hate at any group,” the leaders said in the statement. “We will remove any materials that do not further the cause of promoting understanding.

“Images displayed at a Feb. 10 hearing by the Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism are not posted on the MTA’s website, but rather on outside websites, which are linked to the resources page,” Page and McCarthy added. “The links to the sites containing those offensive images will be removed.”

The ADL New England chapter called the removal of the images a “welcome first step toward restoring confidence.”

“The @MTA decision to remove harmful content from its list of curricular resources is a welcome first step toward restoring confidence,” ADL New England posted. “In light of the significant problems highlighted at last week’s commission hearing about specific antisemitic resources and the biased nature of the list, we urge @MTA to take affirmative steps to objectively vet its resources for bias and pedagogical soundness and make any future version of this list public for full transparency.”

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