Maryland school district urged to adopt ‘zero-tolerance policy’ on antisemitism amid wave of incidents
The JCRC of Greater Washington cited antisemitic graffiti, ‘Heil Hitler’ gestures and threats against students across the Maryland school district
Antisemitic and anti-Israel graffiti was found outside Greenwood Elementary School in Olney, Maryland. (Google Streetview)
(JTA) — The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington is calling on a local school district in Maryland to adopt a “zero tolerance policy” toward antisemitism following what it described as a recent wave of anti-Jewish incidents across its schools.
Antisemitic and anti-Israel graffiti found at Greenwood Elementary School over the weekend was only the latest entry in a “deeply troubling pattern of antisemitic and/or anti-Zionist incidents” within Montgomery County Public Schools, Guila Franklin Siegel, the JCRC’s chief operating officer, said in a statement on Tuesday.
Among the incidents cited by Franklin Siegel were “anti-Israel messaging” at a culture night at Olney Elementary School in March, “physical threats and harassment directed toward Jewish students at multiple schools” and “Heil Hitler” gestures and speech at middle school events.
“While the details vary, these incidents reveal a harsh truth: too many Jewish students and educators at too many MCPS schools continue to face too many threats,” Franklin Siegel said, adding that the number of reports were “significantly higher than other school districts across our region.”
Montgomery County Public Schools did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. The district is Maryland’s largest and encompasses many prominent Washington suburbs, including Bethesda and Rockville.
The Greenwood Elementary School graffiti, which included a drawing of the Star of David, drew condemnation from Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who wrote in a post on Facebook Tuesday that “such hate has no place in our schools or our state, especially as we begin Jewish American Heritage Month.”
The Montgomery County district, which has a diverse population including many Jewish students and teachers, faced criticism over its handling of antisemitism even before the war in Gaza but has faced an explosion of anticemitic incidents since Oct. 7.
In December 2023, four educators in the district were placed on administrative leave for allegedly sharing antisemitic images and messages on social media, and the following year, the federal Department of Education opened a Title VI investigation into the district over allegations of antisemitism.
In the statement, Franklin Siegel said she had met with Superintendent Thomas Taylor, who said the district would begin complying with “recently adopted state law requiring anti-bias training for school educators and staff” in August.
“Our messages were simple: MCPS must establish a zero-tolerance policy on antisemitism and other forms of hatred and bias; train and empower administrators and teachers to correctly identify and respond to antisemitism; and rigorously enforce disciplinary codes, making it clear that anyone who engages in antisemitic or other hateful behavior will face meaningful consequences,” Franklin Siegel wrote.
While she said the JCRC welcomed the district’s other commitments to improve school participation in its Holocaust and antisemitism education initiatives and “drafting specific guidelines for culture and international nights,” Franklin Siegel encouraged the school district to “not stop there.” She said she wanted to see more instruction about Jewish history and more discipline against online bullying.
“Given that bias incidents are so often connected to the proliferation of hate speech online, MCPS also needs to discipline students who harass and bully Jewish students on social media accounts, even when those accounts are not formally affiliated with schools,” she said. “The district has that authority, and principals must enforce it.”
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