"Zionist or Nazi?" ADL Files Complaint Against Baltimore Public Schools
The ADL claims that since October 7, Jewish students at Baltimore Public Schools have been subject to open abuse, harassment, and intimidation without any recourse.
The ADL has filed a civil rights complaint against Baltimore Public Schools for allegedly tolerating rampant antisemitic harassment, threats, and intimidation in its school system, contrary to federal law, according to a statement last Wednesday.
According to the complaint, here are some of the things Jewish students have had to endure in Baltimore public schools, especially since October 7:
"Students at Mt. Washington School elementary and middle school subjecting Jewish classmates to antisemitic text messages linking to a “Zionist or Nazi?” quiz, performing daily Nazi salutes on school grounds, and making threats including “we should call Hamas and have them come here.”
"Persistent swastika graffiti appearing on school property at multiple schools, with few consequences for perpetrators.
"A poster reading “from the river to the sea” displayed at Baltimore City College high school, a message that conveys support for the destruction of Israel and denial of Jewish self-determination.
"A teacher who said to the class, “I’m about to go all Nazi on you.”
According to the ADL, "[t]he complaint urges the U.S. Department of Education to investigate the hostile environment in BCPSS schools and calls for the district to implement comprehensive remedies, including adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, providing mandatory training on antisemitism for all staff, implementing Holocaust and antisemitism education curricula, and enforcing zero-tolerance policies for antisemitic conduct."
Multiple polls and surveys point to a massive spike in antisemitic incidents, including assault, harassment, and threats against Jews throughout the US, UK, Australia, France, and elsewhere. Such attacks include the "tentifada" of mass protests, some of them violent in elite universities throughout the United States. They also include multiple attempts at arson and vandalism of Jewish institutions and synagogues, only some of which have been solved by local police forces.