Weaponizing Antisemitism: From the 1968 Teacher Strike to Today's New McCarthyism.

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	Weaponizing Antisemitism: From the 1968 Teacher Strike to Today's New McCarthyism.
Authors:	Sanchez, Adam (AUTHOR) adam@rethinkingschools.org
Source:	Rethinking Schools. Summer2026, Vol. 40 Issue 4, p20-26. 7p. 1 Cartoon or Caricature.
Subject Terms:	Intergroup relations, Freedom of speech, Antisemitism, Strikes & lockouts, Civil rights organizations, Jewish identity, Zionism
Geographic Terms:	Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.), United States
Abstract:	The article examines the historical and contemporary dynamics of antisemitism, Jewish identity, and Black-Jewish relations in the United States, focusing on the 1968 United Federation of Teachers (UFT) strike in Ocean Hill-Brownsville, Brooklyn. It highlights how accusations of "Black antisemitism" were largely fabricated by UFT leadership to oppose community control of schools, a struggle led by Black and Puerto Rican parents, and how this narrative contributed to fracturing the Black-Jewish coalition built during the Civil Rights Movement. The piece also traces the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) role in redefining antisemitism to conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism, a strategy that has been weaponized against leftist and pro-Palestinian activists, including Jewish educators. The article underscores the diversity of Jewish perspectives on Israel and Zionism, noting growing Jewish opposition to Israeli policies, and calls for reclaiming the definition of antisemitism to protect free speech and solidarity against racial oppression. [Extracted from the article]
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Database:	Education Research Complete

Description
Abstract:	The article examines the historical and contemporary dynamics of antisemitism, Jewish identity, and Black-Jewish relations in the United States, focusing on the 1968 United Federation of Teachers (UFT) strike in Ocean Hill-Brownsville, Brooklyn. It highlights how accusations of "Black antisemitism" were largely fabricated by UFT leadership to oppose community control of schools, a struggle led by Black and Puerto Rican parents, and how this narrative contributed to fracturing the Black-Jewish coalition built during the Civil Rights Movement. The piece also traces the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) role in redefining antisemitism to conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism, a strategy that has been weaponized against leftist and pro-Palestinian activists, including Jewish educators. The article underscores the diversity of Jewish perspectives on Israel and Zionism, noting growing Jewish opposition to Israeli policies, and calls for reclaiming the definition of antisemitism to protect free speech and solidarity against racial oppression. [Extracted from the article]
ISSN:	08956855