The American Jewish Committee has called on the New York State Department of Education to fully investigate all incidents of anti-Semitism in New York public schools, especially the Pine Bush system in upstate New York.

A lawsuit charges rampant bullying and harassment of Jewish students in the school system system about 90 minutes northwest of New York City.

“If we are truly going to have a policy of zero tolerance for anti-Semitic bullying, a statewide investigation into the problem is essential,” said Kenneth Stern, AJC’s Director of Anti-Semitism and Extremism, in a statement.

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A New York Times story reported several incidents in which swatikas were freely drawn on buildings at Pine Bush schools, and Jewish students taunted and even physically assaulted with little to no intervention from school administrators or teachers, even after students and parents complained.

Stern and AJC said that incidents like this are becoming commonplace in many other school districts, including on Long Island and in Westchester and Queens counties. In 2011 the AJC successfully filed a complaint wit the Department of Education against the Vestal Central School District near Binghamton, New York for similar incidents.

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