(JEWISH GROUP) Some Jewish parents angry and fearful when teachers back Palestinians
In New York City, Jewish leaders, teachers and parents demanded that the schools do more to address what they see as antisemitism, staging a rally on the steps of the city’s education department. In Montgomery County, Md., a petition supporting the investigation of teachers for sharing pro-Palestinian images and messages garnered 3,500 signatures.
And in California, at least 30 Jewish families have requested transfer out of the Oakland Unified School District because of issues related to the Israel-Gaza war.
Charges of antisemitism that have coursed through college campuses since the Oct. 7 attack in Israel by Hamas are also embroiling some K-12 school districts, as the emotional toll and anger surrounding the resulting war continues to tear at communities. It was unclear how many of these cases have surfaced, but school districts across the country have grappled with how much to allow students and staff to say about the conflict, and what to do when that speech offends or even makes others feel unsafe. The U.S. Department of Education has opened 19 investigations of potential federal civil rights violations into K-12 school systems alleging antisemitism, Islamophobia or other bias related to the conflict.
“Our concern is not so much about Israel and Gaza but about the one-sided viewpoints being pushed into the classrooms and teachers crossing the line when they go beyond teaching the facts,” said Simon Ferber, who is pulling his 6-year-old son out of the Oakland schools at year’s end. He and his wife complain that teachers have emphasized the harm to Palestinians but not harm to Israelis. They plan to move their family to Los Angeles, where they believe the climate for Jews will be more welcoming.
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