PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio/AP) — A group of Jewish students and their families claim Philadelphia School District officials have allowed antisemitic bullying to take place without consequences since the Israel-Hamas war began last fall, according to a civil complaint filed Tuesday.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) accuses the Philadelphia School District — one of the largest public school systems in the country — of failing to protect K-12 Jewish students from harassment by peers, and even some teachers.
In the civil complaint, an eighth-grader says he got into a fight with a classmate who was allegedly saying “praise Hitler” to him. The student’s mother transferred him to a school 45 minutes away from their home after she said a counselor told her son that he “should not bring his religion into the school.”
Another student says her classmates chanted “kill the Jews” during a classroom discussion about the play “Oliver,” and there was no disciplinary action. A Penn Alexander School fifth-grader says she was cornered by classmates in the hallway and forced to say “free Palestine.”
Lawyers wrote in the complaint that some teachers and administrators have spread inflammatory anti-Jewish and anti-Israel messages on social media and even in the classroom without repercussion. In one instance, a teacher gave a multiple-choice Middle East geography lesson where Israel was not an option but Palestine was.
The ADL asked the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to order the district to issue a statement denouncing antisemitism and to take disciplinary action against teachers and students who engage in discrimination and harassment. The ADL also wants training for faculty, staff and students and the removal of antisemitic posters, flags and other material on school property.
In May, a group called the School District of Philadelphia Jewish Family Association made similar allegations against Philadelphia schools in a complaint to the education department under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on shared ancestry.
The Philadelphia School District said it cannot comment on pending litigation. On Thursday, it plans to launch a series of forums for high schoolers to talk about how the Gaza debate has affected them.
A group of pro-Palestinian teachers called Philly Educators for Palestine, which was cited in the complaint, also responded Tuesday by accusing the ADL of “multiple inaccuracies.” The group added in a statement to The Associated Press that “criticism of Zionism or the Israeli government is not antisemitism, and attempts to label it as such is not only antisemitic itself but troubling as it will shut down any opportunity for critical thought and discussion.”
Colleges, universities and high schools nationwide have seen a wave of pro-Palestinian student protests in response to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, taking hostages and killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians. The toll in Gaza recently surpassed 39,000 Palestinians killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.