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Edited by: Fern Sidman
Jewish students, teachers, and advocates gathered outside the Department of Education’s (DOE) lower Manhattan headquarters on Wednesday to condemn the department’s failure to address the alarming escalation in anti-Semitism within New York City schools. As was reported in the New York Post on Thursday, the demonstration, organized by the activist groups “End Jew Hatred” and the New York City Public School (NYCPS) Alliance, aimed to draw attention to the specific trauma experienced by Jewish students while demanding concrete actions to combat virulent Jew-hatred.
Clutching large Israeli flags and brandishing signs demanding an end to the odious anti-Semitism infecting New York City schools, protesters expressed their concerns about the increasing rates of hate crimes against Jewish individuals. The Post report indicated that Michelle Ahdot, the director of programming and strategy at End Jew Hatred, emphasized the urgency of addressing Jew-hatred, pointing out that hate crimes against Jewish people are currently at unprecedented levels.
“There’s been specific trauma to the Jewish people and that’s what needs to be addressed,” Ahdot told the Post. She added that, “So just as when the Black Lives Matter movement was at its peak, right now, we are seeing Jewish hate crimes at rates that are just unprecedented.”
Students who participated in the rally shared their personal experiences of fear and discrimination, particularly in the aftermath of the brutal October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel. According to the information provided in the Post report, Hannah Gavrilov, an 11th-grade New York City school student, highlighted the challenges faced by Jewish students who encounter anti-Israel bias from teachers in the classroom, leading to penalization for expressing their Zionist beliefs.
“Jewish students have to face teachers who express anti-Israel bias in class and penalize them for proudly expressing their Zionism,” said Gavrilov, according to the Post report.
“We sometimes forget that schools pose as our legal guardians during the school day, they have a solemn responsibility to protect their students and they must not fail to protect us from hate and discrimination, especially in this day and age.
“They must no longer dismiss this as political speech and sweep it under the rug. It is anti Zionism it is Jew hatred and it is lethal.”
Shaayna Levin shared distressing incidents of swastikas drawn on her notebooks, death threats, and vows to complete Hitler’s job, all met with inaction by school administrations. The report in the Post said that the protesters underscored instances where teachers initiated walkouts in support of Hamas’ actions, a student-led rally called to “globalize the intifada” (advocating mass murder of Jews), and a riot at an anti-Israel rally that forced a Jewish teacher to seek refuge in a classroom.
The demonstrators called on Chancellor David Banks to apply and enforce the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism. As per the report in the Post, they also urged for increased Jewish representation in NYCPS leadership roles and the establishment of a new vetting protocol overseen by the NYCPS Alliance to monitor resources, curricula, and classroom materials.
Adding to the demands, Karen Feldman, a middle school teacher from the Upper East Side, sought clarity on Chancellor Banks’ announcement from the previous week.
“We must enforce meaningful and serious consequences against students and faculty members who engage in any aggressive public disruptions and intimidation tactics as a form of advocacy or social justice by focusing on these top priorities,” Feldman said, the Post reported.
The Post report said that Banks had unveiled a three-pronged approach focusing on “education, safety, and engagement,” including “tangible consequences” for students and training and support workshops for educators and parents.
The activists emphasized the need for meaningful and serious consequences against students and faculty members engaged in aggressive public disruptions and intimidation tactics, advocating for a strong stance against anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
