Jewish activists are petitioning the Montgomery County Education Association to revoke its endorsement of a county council candidate who has expressed anti-Israel policy goals.
Josie Caballero, who is running for Montgomery County Council at-large in the June 2026 primary election, shared her views on Israel in a questionnaire by the Democratic Socialists of America. She was endorsed by the Metro DC chapter of DSA.
In her responses, the Silver Spring resident pledged to publicly support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement and end all Montgomery County funding to Israel.
“BDS is freedom of speech and freedom of association,” Caballero wrote in the DSA questionnaire. “I support nonviolent actions for the community to put pressure on the violent actors who refuse to follow international law.”
If elected, she seeks to overturn the anti-BDS law signed by former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Executive Order 01.01.2017.25.
Caballero also indicated that one of her policies will be to defund the Maryland Israel Development Center and ensure that “no Maryland money is being sent overseas.”
She vowed to oppose an official adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism. “This re-definition is being used to regulate speech on behalf of the Trump administration, including deportation for people who protest at our college campuses,” Caballero wrote. “That should not be allowed, and everyone deserves First Amendment protections.”
She also pledged to refrain from affiliation with the Israeli government or Zionist lobbying groups, adding that she had worked to prevent Democratic Majority for Israel and American Israel Public Affairs Committee candidates from being elected.
The MCEA recently included Caballero in its 2026 Apple Ballot local endorsements.
“Our Montgomery County activists are very concerned about this,” said Ken Reid, who leads the DMV chapter of the activist group End Jew Hatred.
Members of the WhatsApp group Pens for Swords and the pro-Israel organization Lions for Zion emailed their members, urging them to request that the MCEA rescind its endorsement of Caballero due to her anti-Israel rhetoric and policy goals.
While Reid said MCEA’s Apple Ballot — a pro-public education voter guide — isn’t the deciding factor in the county council elections, it is used by many local voters and teachers.
“It’s a pretty important endorsement in the primary,” Reid said. “It’s not always pivotal, but in general, a lot of the people who they endorse do win.”
Reid is in contact with many Montgomery County residents — activists, teachers and parents — who have raised concerns about MCEA’s endorsement of Caballero.
One Montgomery County Public Schools teacher in the End Jew Hatred WhatsApp group said she hopes that MCEA was unaware of Caballero’s “antisemitic stance” prior to its endorsement.
“I have no idea why Palestine would even be on any form in relation to Montgomery County government,” the teacher wrote. “This is not relevant to her possible work in Maryland.”
Reid, a Falls Church resident who previously worked in local government, said county council members shouldn’t get involved with such “divisive international or even national issues.”
“They’re supposed to be focused on trash collection, zoning, planning, job creation, maybe taxes,” Reid said.
Caballero Says She ‘Will Learn From This Moment’
Caballero said she has been an advocate for the peace and safety of all Montgomery County residents.
“I am heartbroken that anything I have said could be interpreted otherwise or cause pain for members of our community,” she wrote in a statement to Washington Jewish Week. “I understand how serious and destructive antisemitism is, and I recognize that it is rising both here at home and around the world — and like all forms of hate, it is a threat to all of us. I am committed to accountable leadership and will learn from this moment and from future difficult conversations around this and many other issues – because that’s how we grow. And it is my responsibility to ensure my words and actions reflect care, accuracy, and respect.”
“We know that Josie is an advocate for peace and security, and that she’s an advocate to stopping antisemitism around not just Montgomery County but around the country, and that we are firm believers that she will stand for the Jewish community,” a senior staff member of Caballero’s campaign told Washington Jewish Week. “As a Zionist Jew, I can tell you that she is an ally in this fight against antisemitism.”
The staff member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Caballero takes community members’ concerns seriously. He distinguished between antisemitism and criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
“On a personal level, I’m a firm believer in Israel’s right to exist,” the senior staff member said. “At the same time, on a political level, I am absolutely opposed to Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, which is a government that’s far right-wing. To me as a Zionist, I see the actions of the Netanyahu government as a threat to the peace and security of all Jews.”
“Everyone in Montgomery County deserves to live in security, peace, and dignity. We are neighbors first — and our different backgrounds, religious beliefs, and cultures should be celebrated and welcomed,” Caballero wrote. “I look forward to working with our teachers, faith leaders, and any community interested in building a future where that is true for all of us.”
Good for her. Israel shouldn’t receive a single dollar from Maryland, and the BDS movement is clearly protected by the first amendment. Israel is not synonymous with Judaism, and opposing its right-wing regime is not anti-Semitic.
It’s not anti-Semitic to be anti- Israel.
That’s not the point. The point is — will she, if elected, spend her time and staff to occupy the County Council’s very busy agenda with trying to remove the IHRA protections against antisemitism and the very small amount of money the county gives to a state agency that works to bring jobs and investment from Israel to Maryland? We see what Mamdani’s actions to remove BDS and IHRA measures in NYC will do. It will embolden antisemites to want more from their local govt. There are far better candidates for County Council than Caballero and no Jew should vote for her.