EXCLUSIVE — The union chapter leader for a New York City school is under fire from teachers and members of Congress for sending an email to colleagues alleging "illegal Israeli colonialist occupation" is what "led to" the deadly Hamas terrorist attacks against the Jewish state.

The Oct. 17 email by speech teacher Judi Cheng at M.S. 131 Dr. Sun Yat Sen, a middle school in New York City's Chinatown, is raising alarm bells among educators, many of whom have contacted the principal, Benjamin Geballe, to express concerns over antisemitism. Cheng, the school's representative for the United Federation of Teachers, sent it to union members and claimed she was "speaking only for myself, from a personal point of view, not as chapter Leader," according to communications obtained by the Washington Examiner.

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'Israeli colonialist occupation'

"It pains me to see the NYC Schools Chancellor and UFT making recent public statements denouncing Oct 7th's actions of Palestinian militants, but not the last 75 years of genocidal, illegal Israeli colonialist occupation, which created the horrific, inhumane conditions that led to last weekend's kidnappings and Hamas' incursions," Cheng wrote in the email, calling for the union's teachers' retirement system to "divest from weapons and other companies that are complicit in violations of Palestinians' civil and land rights."

"Last weekend's events didn't start this conflict," Cheng continued. "The conflict started long ago, in 1917 and in 1948, when Palestinian homes were taken by force. Every year, $3,800,000,000 U.S. taxpayer dollars goes to fund an illegal occupation and settler colonialist state. Until the U.S. stops its support for Israel, unless the U.N. develops greater enforcement powers, and unless we as peace-loving people begin to have honest conversations with each other about anti-Arab Zionist colonialism, innocent Palestinian men, women, children, and elders will continue to be displaced, evicted, and erased from the map. Literally."

The email, which totals roughly 700 words, underscores how teachers, as well as K-12 schools and universities, have expressed sympathy for Hamas on the heels of its unprecedented attack — which has killed over 1,400 innocent Israelis and 33 Americans. Hamas alleges over 5,700 Palestinians have died since the conflict began, though the statistics are scrutinized as heavily unreliable by national security experts. The terrorist group notably claimed Israel bombed a Gaza hospital, killing hundreds, but evidence released by Israel contrarily shows a failed Palestinian rocket striking a parking lot.

Cheng's email came days after an Oct. 11 "resolution to support an end to the cycle of violence in the Middle East" from UFT. The union called the terrorist attack by Hamas "unconscionable," noting, "these victims were innocent civilians, including children, young people and teenagers attending a music festival." UFT also said it "stands in support of all those working toward peace" in the Middle East.

One day earlier, on Oct. 10, New York City Schools Chancellor David C. Banks released a statement declaring, "In light of the attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians, I am compelled to speak out to condemn these horrific acts of violence."

Cheng said in a written statement to the Washington Examiner that she "did not give permission to publicize a private email," adding, "I unequivocally do NOT support terrorism of any kind."

"No one is ever justified in targeting innocent civilians — not Hamas, not a right-wing Netanyahu government, and not the Israeli Defense Forces," Cheng said, while also falsely accusing Israel of the "bombing of Al-Ahli hospital." The U.S. government found in an assessment last week that Israel "was not responsible" for the nearby blast.

'Angry and upset'

Sixth grade English teacher Holly Obernauer at M.S. 131 said she called a rabbi and family members upon receiving Cheng's email — and was "angry and upset."

"The terrorists' dehumanization of their victims and the brutality I witnessed as they murdered, raped, abducted and paraded them through Gaza was made worse by getting this email that made no mention of what happened," Obernauer told the Washington Examiner. "My father escaped Nazi Germany as a small child. It's not enough that 6 million were murdered then. Receiving this email has renewed my commitment to fight the evils of antisemitism."

Meanwhile, Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R-NY), who represents areas in Long Island that include a large percentage of Jews, said Cheng's email was "disgusting" and "a prime example of the troublingly strong influence of antisemitism in far too many corners of American society, including our education system." He is urging the New York City Department of Education to launch an investigation.

"Instead of condemning the mass slaughter of innocent Israeli civilians by Hamas terrorists, this antisemitic propagandist masquerading as an 'educator' would rather try to push her rabidly anti-Israel views on fellow teachers, which makes me extremely concerned what falsehoods she is passing onto her students," the congressman told the Washington Examiner.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), whose district in southern New York also includes a major Jewish population, said Cheng's email "is very disturbing, but not surprising." A source familiar said that teachers have been emailing the principal to voice complaints about it.

'No moral equivalency'

"We must combat the antisemitism that has been allowed to fester in our nation’s classrooms and even in the halls of Congress," Lawler told the Washington Examiner. "There is no moral equivalency between Israel defending its very right to exist and a terrorist organization that goes door to door indiscriminately murdering women, children, infants, and Holocaust survivors."

In her email, Cheng flagged to colleagues that there was a pro-Palestinian protest on Oct. 17 at New York's Washington Square Park. The protest saw demonstrators in support of Israel and Gaza clashing, with police separating the two sides.

One of the organizers was New York University's Students for Justice in Palestine, which has expressed support for Hamas in the wake of the attacks.

Cheng also in the email touted how Jewish Voice for Peace "calls on all people of conscience to stop imminent genocide." The anti-Israel organization stormed the U.S. Capitol building last week to protest Israel's retaliation against Hamas.

"Anyone who is 'pained' by the denunciation of terrorists or the existence of the Middle East’s only democratic and pluralistic state has some serious soul searching to do," Lawler added.

News of Cheng's email to other teachers comes as parents call for the removal of another New York City teacher named Mohammad Jehad at Gotham Tech High School for his anti-Israel rhetoric. The New York Daily News reported recently that top UFT representative Amy Arundell was apparently ousted after criticizing the union's Oct. 11 resolution on the Hamas attack.

The Movement of Rank and File Educators, a caucus under UFT, co-sponsored a New York City protest on Friday to demand a ceasefire in the war, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

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Principal Geballe and District 2 Superintendent Kelly McGuire did not reply to requests for comment. Spokeswoman Alison Gendar for New York City's United Federation of Teachers told the Washington Examiner Cheng "was speaking as an individual," and pointed to the Oct. 11 resolution.

"Our most prestigious and trusted institutions, from the federal government on down to local public schools, have been increasingly radicalized by special interests uninterested in fulfilling their statutory and public missions," said Michael Chamberlain, director of the watchdog group Protect the Public's Trust and a former U.S. Department of Education official.