Jewish teachers sue Los Angeles school district over alleged antisemitism

A group of Jewish teachers in Los Angeles on Monday filed a class action complaint the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) for forcing them to associate with a union that allegedly supports calls for the destruction of Israel.

The four teachers, identified as Kimberly Krieger, Carli Goblin, Anna Kingston, and a Jane Doe, called for a jury in a 45-page class action complaint shared with Just The News, and claimed the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) union showed multiple instances of antisemitism that have increased since last year's Oct. 7 attack on the Jewish homeland.

"As ethnic and religious Jews the Plaintiffs share the conviction that the return of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland and the reconstitution and defense of a sovereign Jewish state is a covenant with God," the complaint alleged. "Yet Plaintiffs are compelled to associate with ULTA in order to keep their employment with LAUSD, causing them stress and ostracization from colleagues, on one hand, and their faith and social communities on the other."

The plaintiffs are not members of the union, but are still forced to associate with it pursuant to the California Educational Employment Relations Act (EERA), and follow the union's guidelines as outlined in a collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

Some instances outlined in the complaint include allegations that the union required the district to apply curriculum in classrooms that were antisemitic, and provided teachers with training opportunities on how to avoid detection for anti-Israel rhetoric.

"Both the EERA and the CBA compel Plaintiffs to associate with UTLA’s anti-Semitic speech and curriculum despite Plaintiffs objections based on their sincerely held beliefs," the complaint stated. "Plaintiffs seek freedom from all association with UTLA as is their right under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution."

The class action complaint was filed on the one year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the terrorist organization Hamas, which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,200 Jewish people.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.