But the Jewish Leadership Council has warned that AFZ declarations could be interpreted as calls for "Jewish free zones."
NASUWT northern Ireland posted about the motion on social media (Photo: Facebook)[Missing Credit]
Russell Langer, Director of Public Affairs at the JLC, said: "Many within the Jewish community will hear calls for ‘Apartheid Free Zones’ as a coded call for a ‘Jewish Free Zone’.
"In the past few months, activists [not affiliated with the NASUWT] across the UK marching door to door to demand a political purity pledge have made Jewish people feel targeted in their own homes.
“At a time when hatred of Israel is increasingly being used as a vehicle for hatred and incitement against Jews, and when attacks against the Jewish community are becoming more frequent, those calling for ‘Apartheid Free Zones’ must consider the consequences of their actions.”
The AFZ campaign grew out of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, and the Northern Ireland division's vote preceded the national union's own decision to adopt a boycott of Israeli goods across the UK.
At the union’s last conference, members rejected a motion to support an Israel boycott, but during a private meeting earlier this month, its executive backed the pledge.
The move has similarly alarmed some Jewish members.
One teacher, who asked not to be named, said they had joined NASUWT after leaving the National Education Union (NEU) over its anti-Israel stance.
“NASUWT has always prided itself on being apolitical and staying neutral on divisive issues,” they said.
“Until very recently, they've felt like a comfortable union to belong to, focused on protecting teachers' working rights and trying to improve education... With news of them taking this political stance against Israel, it really seems like the union I once felt comfortable in may not be so for much longer.”
The teacher, a NASUWT rep at their school, said they had attended a roundtable for Jewish members in July 2024, ostensibly to help shape the union's statement on antisemitism.
They recalled being asked to "keep the meeting a secret even after the event" and said the union had since "failed to check in with Jewish members following the spate of terrorist attacks on our community."
They were perturbed by this at the time and are now frustrated with the latest NASUWT policy on the Jewish state.
NASUWT has long held a reputation for being more moderate than the NEU, but several members told the JC that it has drifted leftward since the appointment last July of Matt Wrack as its new leader.
Wrack is a former Fire Brigades Union general secretary with no teaching experience, who previously dismissed the antisemitism crisis in Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party.
In a union conference in 2016, he referred to the “so-called antisemitism in the Labour Party” which he said was “about an attack on the left, and it is about an attempt to undermine Jeremy Corbyn”.
Matt Wrack with former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on June 15, 2017 in London (Image: Getty)Getty Images
Two years later, he criticised the decision by the pro-Corbyn faction Momentum to withdraw support for Pete Willsman after he was recorded saying that Jewish “Trump fanatics” were making false claims of antisemitism in the party and denied the problem was widespread.
His appointment to NASUWT proved immediately controversial, with some Jewish members publishing an open letter expressing their "dismay" within days of the announcement, citing his recording on antisemitism.
A spokesman for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: "In seemingly defying its own members to pursue a crank vendetta against the Jewish State, NASUWT's leaders have made themselves part of this problem."
In response to the JC’s story, Wrack said: “NASUWT is strongly opposed to antisemitism and to all forms of racism.
“In July 2025, NASUWT wrote to education secretaries across the UK – including Northern Ireland – to share findings from our survey on antisemitism in schools and call for more government support for teachers who are experiencing antisemitism in their workplaces.
"We remain committed to working with members as well as employers and the government to tackle antisemitism.”
