(The Center Square) — A new report issued by a Jewish teachers group found a “persistent pattern of hostility” toward Jewish students, educators and staff in New York City schools in the wake of Israel’s war against Hamas.
The report by the group United Jewish Teachers documented 250 “antisemitic and anti-Israel incidents” in New York City public schools since the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel, many of which were direct attacks on Jewish students.
The majority of cases involved “direct acts of harassment, vandalism, and threats” according to the report, but also “biased curriculum and instructional materials, as well as disruptive events such as walkouts and protests.”
“These incidents have created hostile learning and working environments across the system,” the report’s authors wrote. “The report … shows that antisemitism remains a serious and ongoing problem in New York City Public Schools.”
Meanwhile, there was “limited or no effective follow through by the schools or district leadership, “allowing hostile conditions to persist,” they noted.
“These patterns have continued across multiple school years, indicating that existing policies and practices have not adequately protected Jewish members of the school community,” the report stated.
The group recommends that the Mamdani administration adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism as part of the Education Department’s regulations, policies and professional training.
In a statement, the DOE defended its policies to protect Jewish students and other religious minorities, touting the school system’s “leading anti-bullying and bias prevention efforts.”
“New York City Public Schools is focused on ensuring that every student and educator is safe and respected in school,” the statement said. “We have a zero tolerance for hate or bias, including antisemitism, and investigate and respond to all reported incidents in accordance with our Chancellor’s Regulations and applicable laws.”
But the report is the latest to scrutinize New York public schools amid a rise of antisemitism that followed the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks that killed more than 1,200 Israelis and triggered Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza strip and West Bank.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim leader, has been highly critical of Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu and his handling of the war.
In April, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights launched an investigation into the New York City Department of Education to determine whether it violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminating against Jewish students.
The investigation is based on complaints that New York school officials recently allowed the group “NYC Educators for Palestine” to hold a series of teaching seminars focused on “Palestine, Zionism, and Resistance.”
Federal investigators said the complaints allege that the group is teaching children as young as five about “contemporary and historical Palestinian resistance,” that Zionists are “genocidal white supremacists,” and to support the terrorist group Hamas and its “martyrs” in the fight against Israel.
The DOE investigation was the latest in a series of disputes between the federal government and the nation’s largest school district over President Donald Trump’s agenda.
The Trump administration previously withheld over $35 million in grants to the city after it refused to change transgender student policies. But the move was blocked by a federal judge, who ruled that the funding freeze was illegal.
