NEW YORK CITY (CITC) — New York City elected officials are lambasting a Queens high school after students led riots against a Jewish teacher who openly showed support for Israel.
Hundreds of students reportedly participated in the riots at Hillcrest High School last week. The demonstrations followed students discovering a female teacher’s Facebook page, which featured a photo of her at a pro-Israel rally, according to the New York Post.
Videos shared to social media show crowds of Hillcrest students yelling and waving Palestinian flags while marching through the school’s hallways. The teacher reportedly hid in a locked office while the riots took place.
The NYC Department of Education (NYC DOE) has launched an investigation into what some are calling a “deplorable antisemitic assault.” However, several elected officials feel not enough is being done.
“This unconscionable behavior severely violates almost every value to which [NYC DOE] is purportedly committed,” the NYC City Council’s Common Sense Caucus said Monday. “Furthermore, we are extremely troubled by what appears the lack of immediate response and an attempt to sweep this incident under the rug by an agency entrusted with the safety of our children.”
READ MORE | Concerns grow about NYC educators encouraging anti-Israel rhetoric
The caucus claims students “horrifyingly threatened to execute” the teacher last week. A spokesperson for the New York City Police Department (NYPD) told Crisis in the Classroom (CITC) that officers responded to Hillcrest after a “45-year-old female” said she “received a threat from an unknown person … causing annoyance and alarm.”
“Consequences for the extremely dangerous and disgusting antisemitic riot … should be effective to prevent any similar incidents in our schools,” NYC councilmember Ari Kagan said.
The incident also drew the ire of NYC Mayor Eric Adams, who called it a “vile show of antisemitism” motivated by “ignorance-fueled hatred.”
The riots are the latest display of anti-Israel stances in NYC public schools. Earlier this month, students walked out of more than 100 schools to attend a citywide pro-Palestine rally. A “toolkit” provided ahead of the walkouts instructed students to “break the silence on Palestine” and “stand against the brutal bombardment of besieged Gaza.”
The same “toolkit” provided both students and teachers with “scripts” to use when calling elected officials in support of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The “scripts” request that the U.S. end its “complicity” in Israel’s “violence” by withholding any additional weapons or funding.
READ MORE | New York has ‘ramped up’ social media surveillance over surging antisemitism, governor says
NYC teachers have also faced accusations of spreading anti-Israel rhetoric in a private Facebook group. The teachers, most members of the city’s teachers union, have allegedly excused students creating “antisemitic posters with school supplies,” including one depicting the Star of David in a trash can.
CITC reached out to both Hillcrest and NYC DOE for comment, but did not immediately receive responses. This story will be updated if responses are received.
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