Teachers Union Threatens To Sue Critics After Putting Radical Activist In Charge of Israel Curriculum

Massachusetts’ largest teachers union is threatening to sue a group of Republican state lawmakers who condemned the group for tapping an anti-Israel activist to create learning materials about the Gaza war.

The Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) said this month that it “will not hesitate to take legal action if warranted” against the Massachusetts House and Senate Republican Caucuses for a July letter objecting to the union tasking Ricardo Rosa with developing model curricula about Israel and “Occupied Palestine.”

The Republicans objected to Rosa — who has a record of anti-Israel and anti-American rhetoric — developing the materials. The lawmakers observed that Rosa advocated for a “Free Palestine” in the days following October 7, called the United States a “settler colony,” glorified terrorist and plane hijacker Leila Khaled, and voiced his support for a professor who called Zionists “swine” and encouraged protests in Jewish neighborhoods.

In response, the MTA board of directors called the Republicans’ letter “reprehensible,” defended Rosa from the lawmakers’ criticism, and threatened legal action.

Ricardo Rosa’s posts of pro-Palestine protests.

“Ricardo Rosa, MTA’s Director of Training and Professional Learning, has been reprehensibly attacked for simply performing his job at the MTA,” the MTA wrote.

The union, which represents 117,000 educators, came under fire for condemning the United States for being complicit in a “genocidal assault” in the wake of Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.

The lawmakers called for Rosa’s appointment to be revoked, lest his influence undermine the safety of Jewish and Israeli students and risk “turning classrooms into arenas of radicalism.” They pushed the MTA to instead focus on creating a healthy work environment for teachers and providing a quality education to students.

The union in response called Rosa a “respected scholar” and said they are “privileged to have him on staff.”

Rep. Steven Howitt, who organized the Republican letter, told The Daily Wire that he stands by the statement.

“Our office mobilized members of the Republican Caucus to issue a joint statement condemning the decision and called on the MTA to revoke Dr. Rosa’s appointment and pause the development of these educational materials,” Howitt said. “In response, the MTA issued a statement containing inconsistencies and have chosen to defend Dr. Rosa and the development of these materials. I stand by the original statement issued by our caucus.”

The MTA board of directors said it decided to respond to the lawmakers after ignoring other public criticism because the letter “encouraged unprovoked threats against our staff and our public schools and have forced us to report the most serious threats to the FBI and the Massachusetts Attorney General.”

The MTA  attempted to refute the lawmakers by noting that it held workshops about anti-Semitism and allowed for a “broad range of presenters” to speak in its workshops.

In March, the MTA faced criticism after Rosa’s department hosted a “The Struggle Against Anti-Palestinian Racism,” webinar, featuring a presenter who once praised Hamas terrorists for their “courage” on October 7. The webinar aimed to persuade attendees that there was no connection between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism.

“Holding such forums does not suggest MTA endorsement of each and every idea presented. Rather, it models the highest democratic value and exchange of diverse and at times competing ideas that is a hallmark of our labor union,” the group wrote.

It added that the MTA “does not develop curriculum” but instead “provide[s] research and resources” for its members to “critically review and utilize as they see fit in their professional development.”

After October 7, the MTA rejected an anti-Semitism workshop proposal from Jany Finkielsztein, a retired instructional coach for the Waltham Public Schools who has created many teacher training programs throughout her 17-year career.

“I believe my workshop proposal, titled ‘Jewish Ethnic and Cultural Diversity at a Time of Rising Anti-Semitism’ was likely declined due to a potential conflict with the narrative promoted by certain members of the MTA, including Rosa, who advocate for portraying Israel as a settler colonial enterprise and Jews as white oppressors,” Finkielsztein told The Daily Wire.

Ricardo Rosa’s posts about Aaron Bushnell, a Houthi-run rally, and terrorist and plane hijacker Leila Khaled. (Photo: Instagram)

In recent years, Rosa has taken to social media to declare that “Western humanity is a lie,” accuse Israel of committing genocide, and post “Free Palestine” with an image of a Houthi-run rally calling for supporting Gaza and increasing attacks.

Rosa also advocated for the reinstatement of Danny Shaw, a former John Jay College professor, who he described as a “good brother.” Shaw was dismissed after calling Zionists “Babylon swine,” encouraging protests in “their neighborhoods,” and pushing other anti-Semitic tropes, according to Canary Mission. Rosa also praised Aaron Bushnell, the U.S. airman who set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., in February.

The MTA has not responded to a request for comment.