Jewish students, teachers and advocates condemned the Department of Education on Wednesday for their failures to address rising antisemitism in New York City schools — chanting “shame” as they gathered outside the DOE’s lower Manhattan headquarters.
The activist groups End Jew Hatred and the New York City Public School (NYCPS) Alliance gathered on the steps of Tweed Courthouse, gripping large Israeli flags and waving signs that demanded an end to antisemitism.
“There’s been specific trauma to the Jewish people and that’s what needs to be addressed,” the director of programming and strategy at End Jew Hate Michelle Ahdot told the Post.
“So just as when the Black Lives Matter movement was at its peak, right now, we are seeing Jewish hate crimes at rates that are just unprecedented.
“So right now, it’s time for Jew-hatred to be addressed.”
Students at the rally detailed the fear they’ve been living with after Hamas launched a brutal and bloody Oct 7 attack on Israel.
“Jewish students have to face teachers who express anti-Israel bias in class and penalize them for proudly expressing their Zionism,” said 11th-grade NYC school student Hannah Gavrilov.
“We sometimes forget that schools pose as our legal guardians during the school day, they have a solemn responsibility to protect their students and they must not fail to protect us from hate and discrimination, especially in this day and age.
“They must no longer dismiss this as political speech and sweep it under the rug. It is anti Zionism it is Jew hatred and it is lethal.”
Shaayna Levin recalled the harrowing moments she had “swastikas drawn on her notebooks, death threats made and vows to finish Hitler’s job on the school bus.”
“Once again the school’s administration did absolutely nothing,” she added.
Speakers noted that teachers initiated walkouts “in support of Hamas’ atrocities.”
A student-led rally in Bryant Park called to “globalize the intifada” (a call for the mass murder of Jews) and a riot broke out at an anti-Israel rally, forcing a Jewish teacher to hide in a classroom.
The protesters called on Chancellor David Banks to apply and enforce the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
They also called for more Jewish representation in NYCPS leadership roles and the creation of a new vetting protocol overseen by the NYCPS Alliance to monitor resources, curricula and classroom materials.
In addition to the three demands, Upper East Side middle school teacher Karen Feldman listed a fourth demand asking for clarity on what Banks meant by “tangible consequences” in an announcement he made last week to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia.
“We must enforce meaningful and serious consequences against students and faculty members who engage in any aggressive public disruptions and intimidation tactics as a form of advocacy or social justice by focusing on these top priorities,” she said.
Chancellor Banks and the Department of Education referred the Post to Banks’ announcement last week unveiling a three-pronged approach of “education, safety and engagement,” which includes “tangible consequences” for students and training and support workshops for educators and parents.
