NYC teachers group that staged pro-Gaza student walk-outs funded by George Soros' Tides Foundation

The group of public school teachers in New York behind anti-Israel walkouts has received funding from the George Soros-backed Tides Foundation. Teachers Unite advocated for anti-Israel walkouts in New York City public schools to protest Israel's actions against the Palestinian group Hamas. The group has also held organization meetings in schools across NYC.

The group previously provided students with a toolkit for the walkout, which included demands to "free Palestine from the river to the sea" and to protect teachers from retaliation for discussing Palestine. The toolkit also suggested that teachers cancel tests or major deadlines to accommodate students participating in a May 31 walkout that saw students march to the Department of Education headquarters.

The not-for-profit Manhattan group, which has a mission of “developing the leadership skills of progressive educators” and fighting the “school-to-prison pipeline,” received $11,000 in 2023 from Soros' Tides Foundation, according to a report by the New York Post. Teachers Unite is headed by co-executive directors Charlotte Pope and Bella Week, neither of whom appeared in city payroll records, per the Post. At least one of the board members is also a member of the United Federation of Teachers.

In 2022, Teachers Unite reported nearly $400,000 in revenue, according to IRS filings. It received Soros-backed funds in 2023 as well as support from Radfund, a group that claims to be focused on “frontline communities” and “structural inequality.”

The Tides Foundation, supported by Soros, has also funded WESPAC, a nonprofit that backs the pro-Palestine group Within Our Lifetime. This group has organized various anti-Semitic protests, including campus demonstrations following the October 7 attack by Hamas terrorists on Israeli civilians.