Anti-Semitism is rampant in Philadelphia schools, Jewish group claims in civil rights complaint

MICHAEL RUBINKAM, Associated Press

59 mins ago

The Philadelphia School District headquarters is seen in Philadelphia, Tuesday, July 23, 2024. The Philadelphia School District failed to protect Jewish students from “a virulent wave of anti-Semitism” that swept through classrooms after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, according to a federal complaint filed Tuesday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The Philadelphia school district failed to protect Jewish students from a “virulent wave of anti-Semitism” that swept through classrooms following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, according to a complaint filed with a federal agency on Tuesday.

The district, one of the largest public school systems in the U.S., ignored ongoing harassment and bullying of Jewish students, some of whom were forced to drop out of school, the lawyers wrote in the complaint. Some teachers and school administrators spread inflammatory anti-Jewish and anti-Israel messages on social media and even in the classroom without fear of consequences, the complaint said.

The Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish advocacy group, called on the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to order the school district to issue a statement condemning anti-Semitism and to take disciplinary action against teachers and students who engage in discrimination and harassment. The ADL also calls for training for teachers, staff and students and the removal of anti-Semitic posters, flags and other materials from school grounds.

A school district spokesman declined to comment on an ongoing investigation.

A wave of pro-Palestinian student protests has erupted at colleges, universities and high schools across the country in response to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, taking hostages and killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians. The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza recently passed 39,000, according to the state’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.

While most of the focus has been on the protests that rocked college campuses this spring and resulted in thousands of arrests, a recent congressional hearing put anti-Semitism in elementary and secondary education in the spotlight. The leaders of New York City Public Schools, Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, and Berkeley Unified School District in California vigorously denied that they have failed to confront hostility toward Jews.

Like Philadelphia, New York City and Montgomery County are facing civil investigations by the Department of Education over allegations of anti-Semitism. The ADL has filed suit against Berkeley in California state court.

In Philadelphia, school administrators have allowed hostility toward Jewish students to spread and intensify over the past nine months, failing to confront a rampant culture of retaliation and fear that has discouraged Jewish students and parents from coming forward at all, said James Pasch, ADL’s senior director for national litigation, in an interview Tuesday.

“There is an environment here that really needs to change, and it needs to change now,” he said.

In May, a group called the School District of Philadelphia Jewish Family Association made similar allegations in a complaint to the Department of Education under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on common ancestry.

After that complaint was filed, a group of pro-Palestinian teachers called Philly Educators for Palestine stated that while all cases of discrimination should be addressed, it is not anti-Semitic to criticize Israel or speak out on behalf of Palestinians. The group said the complaint was an attempt to silence teachers and students and a distraction from “the carnage Israel is inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza.”

Through an allied group, the Racial Justice Organizing Committee, a message was sent to Philly Educators for Palestine seeking comment on the recent allegations.