JTA — Moshe Spern thought Michael Mulgrew would listen to him.

The 14-year member of the United Federation of Teachers, New York City’s teachers union, lobbied hard for the incumbent UFT president to be reelected back in May, writing in an open letter that he believed Mulgrew “understands the pressing concerns facing Jewish educators in 2025.”

Mulgrew ultimately eked out a win in the US union’s closest-ever election, fending off two progressive challengers who had previously expressed public criticism of Israel.

So when the union faced a decision about whom to endorse in the New York City mayoral election, Spern was optimistic that Mulgrew might take heed of his exhortation not to back anyone at all. He was particularly concerned about Zohran Mamdani, the frontrunner who has received criticism from Jewish groups and leaders for his record of criticizing Israel and supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

“I would never, ever, ever call Mamdani an antisemite,” said Spern, saying that was a determination he would not make “until I actually have a conversation with a person or I see something. But Mamdani is an open anti-Zionist, and that’s not debatable.”

Last month, the UFT made its decision: It’s backing Mamdani for mayor.

For Spern, who leads a 250-member advocacy group called United Jewish Teachers, the endorsement came as a blow.

“We helped elect Mulgrew, and now we feel like Mulgrew sort of stabbed us in the back,” said Spern, who works as a special education and history teacher at a Queens high school before pulling a second shift as a yeshiva administrator in the afternoon.

He is not the only UFT member to feel that way. Across the 200,000-member union, which was once dominated by Jewish teachers and had Jewish presidents from its founding in 1960 until Mulgrew’s election in 2009, some Jewish educators are grappling with feelings of betrayal and fear after their union backed a candidate that they believe is dangerous for them.

“The concern isn’t just political,” said Karen Feldman, a former New York public school teacher and co-founder of NYCPS Alliance, a Jewish educator advocacy group with over 2,500 participants. “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. We truly were hoping that our union would not endorse anyone this election because it is such a divisive and heated one.”

At the same time, some Jewish teachers are cheering their union’s endorsement, saying they believe Mamdani is the best candidate in the race — and in some cases backing his stances on Israel, too.

The UFT did not endorse in the primary after initially pledging to, saying that........

© The Times of Israel