Upstate New York Schools Sued Over Anti-Semitism
The Pine Bush school district in upstate New York is being sued by several parents who claim their children were subject to anti-Semitic bullying and harassment, the New York Times reported.
Swastikas proliferated all over school grounds and students’ notebooks, and teachers or school officials reortedly did not intervene, despite myriad complaints from both students and their parents, the parents told the Times.
The former superintendent of the school district , Philip G. Steinberg, called the lawsuit a “money grab” and that the allegations are “embellished.”
A lawyer for the district says they have “responded diligently” to reports of anti-Semitic behavior, including bringing in Holocaust survivors to speak to school assemblies, and holding anti-bullying training for students and teachers.
Pine Bush schools serve parts of Sullivan, Ulster and Orange counties, west of Newburgh and about 90 minutes drive from New York City.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
