Dear President Mulgrew and United Federation of Teachers (UFT) officers,

We are rank-and-file UFT members —  New York City public school teachers, paraprofessionals, nurses, school secretaries, and physical and occupational therapists — who are horrified by Israel’s murderous war on Gaza. We condemn Israel’s ongoing indiscriminate assault on Gazans. Over 20,000 civilians, including over 7,700 children, have been killed by Israeli bombs. 

As educators we are appalled that Israel is bombing schools where thousands of Palestinians are sheltering. These attacks on Palestinian civilians and educational infrastructure is a war crime under international law.

We call on UFT leadership to join international calls for an immediate end to the bombing of Gaza and a complete ceasefire, an end to the siege, and immediate medical and humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza in order to stop the killing.

More and more of our labor movement siblings have already passed resolutions and signed letters demanding a ceasefire, including the Chicago Teachers Union, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, San Antonio Alliance of Teachers & Support Personnel, and the Oakland Education Association.

We reject the idea that opposition to Israel’s war is the same as antisemitism. We reject antisemitism as strongly as we reject Islamophobia. We are educators, many of us Jewish and Palestinian, and we teach students from all backgrounds. There is no justification for the killing of thousands of children, no matter their race or religion.

Our labor movement has great power to influence politicians in New York and in DC who are currently sending more weapons to Israel. Many of the Democratic Party politicians whose election campaigns we have supported, including President Biden, are currently giving full support to Netanyahu’s government in carrying out this atrocity.

It is our responsibility to use that political power to push for peace and justice. We should call on the President and Congress to do everything in their power to achieve a ceasefire. Staying silent is not an option.

UFT must call for a ceasefire now!