Jewish Teacher Sues New Jersey Catholic School Over Daily Acts Of Anti-Semitism
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — A Jewish teacher at a Catholic high school in New Jersey is suing the school for religious discrimination, claiming he faced anti-Semitism daily and was fired when he complained about it.
Jacob Rabinowitz filed a lawsuit last week in Newark federal court against St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale alleging religious discrimination, unlawful retaliation and creating a hostile work environment.
The school and the Archdiocese of Newark, which oversees the all-boys school, were named as defendants.
Rabinowitz, a first-year teacher from West Orange, said in the lawsuit that the anti-Semitism began on the first day of class, NJ.com reported. A swastika was carved into his blackboard, students threw coins at him, one student acted out the murder of a Jewish woman from a scene in “Schindler’s List” and another wrote, in German, “Six Million was just the beginning,” the lawsuit alleges.
The diocese told NJ.com that Rabinowitz did not complain about religious discrimination until after he received a less-than-satisfactory evaluation. He was told in March that he would not be rehired for the following school year.
The swastika was not removed from Rabinowitz’s classroom until April 23, according to the lawsuit.
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