Delegates at the American Federation of Teachers’ 89th national convention will consider a series of resolutions targeting Israel when they gather in Washington, D.C., at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center starting July 16.
The teachers’ union, headed by Randi Weingarten, will vote on a 204-page proposed AFT constitution, viewed by JNS, which includes a resolution submitted by the executive council of the union that demands “an end to Israel’s bombing and invasion of Lebanon” and calls on “the United States and Israel to end the use of military force against Iran.”
A separate resolution, submitted by the Berkeley Federation of Teachers, calls for “an end to the United States’ and Israel’s wars against Iran and Lebanon now” and “the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Lebanon.”
Another proposal, from United Teachers Los Angeles, seeks to allocate $50,000 to UNICEF’s Gaza relief program and launch a campaign encouraging AFT members to contribute.
Delegates will also consider a resolution titled “No Endorsement for Genocide Enablers,” which alleges that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide and calls for withholding endorsements from elected officials who support military aid to Israel.
A resolution submitted by the California Federation of Teachers commits the AFT to building an “alliance of teachers unions and public sector unions to advocate for the creation of a multinational donor safety net to ensure that teachers in the West Bank and Gaza, at all levels, elementary to higher education, can be paid their due wages.”
The convention agenda notes that inclusion in the proposed document “is not an endorsement and does not mean that it will be adopted to the convention or debated on the floor of the convention.”
The AFT represents approximately 1.8 million members, but the convention is not open to a vote of the union’s entire membership. Instead, delegates, elected by local affiliates, will vote on resolutions, constitutional amendments and union leadership.
Nearly 15,000 teachers have opted out of the AFT and other unions and joined the Teacher Freedom Alliance, a non-union alternative, according to Corey DeAngelis, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and author of The Parent Revolution.
“This is the way to hold union bosses accountable,” he said. “Starve the beast.”
