Old North News

Jewish lawyers say members of their own labor union are attacking them for supporting Israel—claims that have led Congress to investigate the group for antisemitism. In Case You Missed It, The Free Press shared leaked internal group chat messages from the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys/UAW Local 2325 (Local 2325) showing union members calling their Jewish colleagues “fascist,” “deranged,” and “mentally disturbed” for supporting Israel in the wake of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack. This report corroborates Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx’s (R-NC) inquiry into Local 2325 after it adopted an antisemitic resolution. Chairwoman Foxx has since served a subpoena on Local 2325 after it ignored the Committee’s request for more information surrounding the resolution.

Members who defended Israel in the ALAA group chat known internally as the “gaggle” were called “fascist,” “deranged,” and “mentally disturbed.” One post in December called Israel the “racist white status quo,” while the following post called Zionism an “ethnocentric racist bigoted belief.”

On Friday, Congress announced it is probing the ALAA—also known as UAW Local 2325—for antisemitism within its ranks. In a letter, House member Virginia Foxx (R-NC) said she was subpoenaing ALAA for its records after “a sizable portion” of the union’s members were “alienated” by its decision to pass the resolution. Foxx is the chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce—the same group that held the hearings into antisemitism at MIT, Harvard, and the University of Pennsylvania, which led to the resignation of two college presidents last December. Foxx told The Free Press that the ALAA “scheduled a vote on a blatantly antisemitic resolution that one third of its members vigorously opposed, citing irreconcilable conflicts of interest that would negatively impact their professions as public defenders and create an ethical dilemma.” Foxx said the committee will explore whether or not ALAA informed its members of their federally guaranteed right to withhold union dues that fund political activities.

"You know a union is not representing people who really need a union when they are picketing for Free Palestine as opposed to better wages, more protections, better healthcare, things working class people really need," said Batya Ungar-Sargon, a labor expert and the author of Second Class.

“It’s so disturbing because all of that energy could have been spent on the clients we work with,” expressed Edda Ness, a Jewish attorney and ALAA member. “The oxygen is instead going toward their hate.”

“To have our representatives, the people that are supposed to be making our workplace more supportive, be making us feel scared when we walk in the door at work,” Goldstein said, “that’s the opposite of helping us do our job.”