Solidarity Not Silence is an informal coalition of radical-left activists formed to support four teachers who were suspended from the Montgomery County, Maryland, public schools for social media posts that attacked Israel amid the 2023-2024 Israel-Hamas war that were deemed antisemitic. The group hosted a protest in support of the teachers but does not appear to exist in any formal sense otherwise.

Protestors affiliated with the group and its promoters include the Progressive Labor Party, a Marxist-Leninist minor political party that was formed as an offshoot of the Communist Party USA in the 1960s, and Angry Education Workers, an informal coalition of socialist-aligned teachers union activists in the Washington, D.C., area. ¹

Background

Solidarity Not Silence was formed as an informal coalition in late 2023 to protest the suspension of four Montgomery County, Maryland, public school teachers for posting a variety of radical views on social media showing support for Hamas and opposition to Israel amid Israel’s war against Hamas. The group described itself as an ad hoc coalition of teachers “from revolutionary unions and other activist groups in the Washington DC area” and expressed outrage over the lack of action by the local teachers’ union in defending the suspended teachers, calling on “mainstream teachers’ unions to bargain directly over employers’ social media and speech policies.” ²

The group has stated that “A politicized core of militants is emerging among the rank-and-file of mainstream teachers’ unions—the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA)—that are demanding their unions definitively call for a permanent ceasefire and take action to make it happen.” The group further called on union members to urge their unions to un-endorse President Joe Biden in the 2024 election and withhold PAC donations from President Biden’s reelection campaign “until a permanent ceasefire is secured.” ³

The group also stated that “At the current rate, most teachers’ unions are not standing up to the accusations of anti-Semitism being lobbed at any teachers speaking up for Palestine.” ⁴ Regarding the content of the teachers’ social media posts, the communist- and Solidarity Not Silence-affiliated Progressive Labor Party stated only that “The Facebook posts included a drawing of Israeli tanks aimed at babies in neonatal units and called the destruction of lives in Palestine by Israeli bombing ‘a massacre.’” Progressive Labor Party stated such speech does not qualify as antisemitism. ⁵

Regarding one of the teachers in question, the PLP stated that “She organizes with workers around housing and provides personal and organizational support to immigrants in the DC area. After thousands and thousands of Facebook posts on many topics challenging systems of oppression, why this moment? Because the U.S. government is desperate to support the Zionist Israelis who represent their imperialist interests in the Middle East, such as oil, pipelines, and sea routes.” ⁶

Affiliated Groups

Organizers of Solidarity not Silence include the Progressive Labor Party, a Marxist-Leninist minor political party that was formed as an offshoot of the Communist Party USA in the 1960s, and Angry Education Workers, an informal coalition of socialist-aligned teachers union activists in the Washington, D.C. area. In 2024, Both Solidarity not Silence and Angry Education Workers organized a student strike urging Washington, D.C.-area students to skip school and march to the White House to “demand that the Biden administration and Congress 1) End unconditional military aid to Israel 2) Call for a permanent and immediate ceasefire.” ⁷

1. “Teachers Teach The Truth – Solidarity, Not Silence!” Progressive Labor Party. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://plp.org/home/challenge-newspaper/12877-teachers-teach-the-truth-solidarity-not-silence
2. “A Call to Action from Solidarity, not Silence!” Angry Education Workers. February 12, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.angryeducationworkers.com/a-call-to-action-from-solidarity-not-silence/
3. “A Call to Action from Solidarity, not Silence!” Angry Education Workers. February 12, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.angryeducationworkers.com/a-call-to-action-from-solidarity-not-silence/
4. “A Call to Action from Solidarity, not Silence!” Angry Education Workers. February 12, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.angryeducationworkers.com/a-call-to-action-from-solidarity-not-silence/
5. “Teachers Teach The Truth – Solidarity, Not Silence!” Progressive Labor Party. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://plp.org/home/challenge-newspaper/12877-teachers-teach-the-truth-solidarity-not-silence
6. “Teachers Teach The Truth – Solidarity, Not Silence!” Progressive Labor Party. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://plp.org/home/challenge-newspaper/12877-teachers-teach-the-truth-solidarity-not-silence
7. Rosiak, Luke. “‘Angry Education Workers’ Ask High Schoolers To Go On ‘Strike’ From School For Gaza.” The Daily Wire. May 22, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.dailywire.com/news/angry-education-workers-ask-high-schoolers-to-go-on-strike-from-school-for-gaza