Students at schools across California have been targeted with horrific anti-Semitic violence, threats and slurs, according to a new blockbuster lawsuit.
On Thursday, Louis D. Brandeis Center and StandWithUS filed the suit against the state of California, alleging it has allowed “pervasive harassment of Jewish and Israeli students in its public education system.”
The suit was filed on behalf of Jewish parents whose children have allegedly been the subjects of “cruel, persistent, and pervasive anti-Semitism” in public schools in California.
“Plaintiffs urgently need this Court’s intervention because Defendants have failed to ensure that the treatment of Jewish students in California’s public schools conforms to the laws of California, rather than the standards of the European Middle Ages or the Soviet Union,” according to the suit being filed Thursday in Los Angeles state Superior Court by the Jewish organizations.
“California teachers are too often not only the enablers but the perpetrators of antiSemitic attacks against Jewish and Israeli students under their charge.”
Numerous school districts up and down the state have been named, including Los Angeles, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, and more.
The suit outlines several examples of alleged anti-Semitism and discriminatory conduct at the various schools.
- One example involved a seventh grader, at the University Preparatory Academy in Santa Clara County, who was chased by two boys shouting, “We want you to die” after speaking in Hebrew. The suit alleged the girl’s school did nothing.
- Another incident occurred at Kester Elementary School, part of LAUSD, when a third-grade Jewish student was called “a racist” by her teacher and barred from performing in a talent show.
- At Louis Armstrong Middle School, also part of LAUSD, a teacher repeatedly meted out unfounded discipline to a seventh-grade Jewish student who wore a Star of David necklace and Israel-related shirts to school. Other students have called their Jewish peers anti-Semitic names and even assaulted them. In each case, school administrators failed to take meaningful action to address the anti-Semitism, according to the press release.
The suit alleges the CA public schools not only permitted, but at times encouraged, an “ongoing hostile environment for Jewish students.”
Melissa Alexander, middle school parent in LA, said that “All children deserve to feel respected, safe and protected in their schools, and there needs to be accountability within the LAUSD system to stop anti-Semitism wherever it’s seen, especially if it’s promoted by teachers who are responsible to protect students.
“This is more than just a lawsuit for our family. It’s about helping to create a safer future for all Jewish students so that no other student feels unprotected in the future.”
Other Jewish organizations have also shown their support for the lawsuit.
“More than half a million students attend L.A. public schools, including 50,000 Jewish children. Rising anti-Semitism in our classrooms is leaving some students unsafe and unprotected. California already has 2 strong laws to prevent hate and discrimination—now they must be enforced consistently so every child can learn safely with dignity,” said Rabbi Noah Farkas, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation.
“When any child experiences hate unchecked, it threatens the safety and moral integrity of our entire public education system.”
The Jewish organizations are asking the court to monitor the schools where anti-Semitism is a problem, and eliminate anti-Semitic curriculum and instruction, have mandatory anti-Semitism training for teachers and administrators, and more.
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