Groups suing the Berkeley Unified School District in California over what they say is a hostile environment for Jewish students expanded their lawsuit on May 6, claiming that anti-Semitism is worsening.
The lawsuit claims that Jewish students have been subjected to “severe and persistent” harassment and discrimination by their peers and teachers since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel and killed about 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians, and kidnapped several hundred others.
Incidents of anti-Semitism have allegedly surged throughout the district since the attack and have included walkouts during school hours in praise of Hamas, and teachers allegedly using class time to tell students that the Hamas attack was admirable “resistance,” according to the original complaint.
The groups suing the district say the actions violate federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination based on race, color, and national origin.
Since the complaint was filed, the groups claim that the school district has not addressed alleged anti-Semitism and “things have sadly and frighteningly deteriorated even further,” Nicole Rosen, a spokeswoman representing the Brandeis Center and the ADL’s lawsuit, told The Epoch Times.
“After three additional months of silence and inaction from Berkeley authorities ... the environment has become even more hostile and threatening,” the groups said in a statement.
According to the expanded complaint, several incidents have happened in the past three months.
The words “Kill Jews” were allegedly scrawled in a Berkeley high school bathroom, and the words “Kill all Zionists” were reportedly written at a bus stop used by many high school students and remained for days after it was reported.
A first grader reported hearing older children on the playground saying that “Jews are stupid.” Following the incident, he said he wished he was not Jewish because people don’t like Jews.
A ninth grader faced bullying and taunting after his parent reported anti-Semitic incidents.
During a cooking lesson on Palestinian food, a seventh grade teacher allegedly forced her students to listen to a podcast that demonized Israel and Jews.
The school district held a walkout in favor of a cease-fire in Gaza during school hours at a high school. School resources and facilities were used to organize the walkout, and staff members attended with students.
Kenneth Marcus, founder and chairman of the Brandeis Center, a nonprofit corporation that advances the civil and human rights of the Jewish people, said the actions were loathsome.
“Dereliction of duty doesn’t even come close to describing what we are seeing in Berkeley,” Mr. Marcus said in a statement. “It is disgusting and shameful.”
He said the district superintendent and school board were willfully ignoring their jobs of protecting students.
“If even one of these incidents was happening to any other minority group, it would be promptly addressed, with consequences, not ignored and permitted to snowball out of control when it comes to the safety of Jewish students,” Mr. Marcus said.
The ADL, a leading anti-hate organization, said the actions were “inexcusable.”
“Jewish students are hiding their identities and are afraid to go to school—this is outrageous, unacceptable, and should not be happening in 2024,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “The Berkeley School District must be held accountable for their inaction and seeming indifference to addressing this hostile school environment and must do more to ensure the safety of Jewish students.”
Although the district did not comment directly about the lawsuit, according to a statement that spokeswoman Trish McDermott shared with The Epoch Times, Berkeley Unified celebrates “diversity and stands against all forms of hate and othering, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.”
“We strive every day to ensure that our classrooms are respectful, humanizing, and joyful places for all our students, where they are welcomed, seen, valued, and heard. We will continue to center our students and take care of each other during this time,” the statement reads.
Berkeley Unified School District Superintendent Ford Morthel is set to testify on May 8 before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on the topic of anti-Semitism in K–12 schools.
