Jewish teachers withhold dues to protest union endorsement of Mamdani

Jewish educators are withholding their dues to protest the New York City teachers’ union endorsement of Democrat candidate Zohran Mamdani, citing issues regarding the candidate’s stance on antisemitism.

The city’s main teachers union, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), announced its endorsement of Mamdani on July 8.

“As a union, we have to protect public education, public employees, and public service from attacks from Washington, DC,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. “We have to make New York City safer and more affordable for working- and middle-class families. We have to make the jobs of educators and nurses more attractive with better pay and benefits, and retain those already doing the work.

“We need a mayor who understands the task before us and who will help us get it done.”

However, Jewish groups, who wanted the union to remain neutral in the contentious election, now feel betrayed.

“We helped elect Mulgrew, and now we feel like Mulgrew sort of stabbed us in the back,” said Moshe Spern, head of United Jewish Teachers.

Mamdani has been widely criticized even by prominent Democrats for his radical, anti-Jewish views.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro denounced Mamdani, saying, “When supporters of yours say things that are blatantly antisemitic, you can’t leave room for that to just sit there. … You’ve got to condemn that.”

For NYC’s Jewish teachers, this mayoral election showcases a union playing the field of progressive politics while its teachers are left unprotected.

“We truly were hoping that our union would not endorse anyone this election because it is such a divisive and heated one,” said Karen Feldman, co-founder of the NYCPS Alliance to fight antisemitism.

“The concern isn’t just political,” she added. “It’s about safety for Jewish educators, the growing politicization of our classrooms, and the erosion of trust in a union that should protect teachers – not push a radical agenda.”

In protest, hundreds of Jewish teachers are now opting out of paying their union dues, particularly to UFT’s political arm, the Committee on Political Education (COPE). Spern and Feldman have hosted webinars for teachers to explain how they can opt out of COPE payments or stop paying dues altogether.

“Many educators have come out of concern about whether they should continue their dues, seeing how the union has sort of left them behind,” Spern explained.

“I think that’s a very, very real, raw emotional state of Jewish teachers, where they question whether they’re paying their dues to the right organization.”​

Still, not all Jewish educators oppose Mamdani. One Manhattan educator said she was “happy” the union endorsed Mamdani and that the union should support candidates with “a really progressive vision for New York.”

Despite having the largest Jewish population outside the state of Israel, New York City still has more than its fair share of antisemitism. This April, NYC public schools came under fire for denying Jewish educators a religious holiday to prepare for Passover.

At the time, Spern said they were “disappointed” with the district and that Jewish teachers didn’t think the “accommodations were enough to fulfill their religious obligations.”

One teacher added the decision “erases core Jewish values.”