When Jewish teachers fight back: American Jewish teachers push back against antisemitism - opinion

Growing up in Colchester, Connecticut, the reporter never experienced antisemitism in their school system. Their parents, both teachers in the 1960s, were proud members of the National Education Association (NEA), a powerful teachers' union in the United States. The NEA has nearly three million members and is known for its commitment to civil rights.

Distressed to learn that this respected institution is facing a national debate over antisemitism within its ranks, the reporter inquired about success stories. They spoke with Karen Bloom, a mathematics teacher in Piedmont, California, who played a significant role in a recent victory against antisemitism at the NEA.

Bloom, who lives in Oakland near Berkeley, California, was in Jerusalem for Hadassah's Annual Conference when the reporter met her. She shared her experiences with the organization's efforts to combat antisemitism. Since the murder of another Hadassah member, Karen Diamond, in Boulder, Colorado, in 2025, Bloom has been particularly vigilant about protecting Jewish educators.

Bloom, who has been teaching for most of her adult life and is also active in her local synagogue, Temple Beth Abraham, has been a leader in addressing antisemitism at the NEA. She joined the NEA's Jewish Affairs Caucus around five years ago and played a crucial role in blocking one-sided resolutions criticizing Israel in 2022. The caucus worked tirelessly to defeat anti-Israel initiatives and strengthen the Jewish Affairs Caucus into a powerful coalition of educators and allies.

In July 2026, at the NEA conference in Denver, Bloom and her colleagues successfully pushed for religion and ethnicity to be explicitly listed as protected categories against discrimination in the NEA's governing rules. This landmark change guarantees Jewish educators the right to participate in meetings without harassment, intimidation, or exclusionary targeting.