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A lawsuit has been launched, spotlighting a troubling pattern of anti-Semitic violence, intimidation, and derogatory language directed at students within California schools.
On Thursday, the Louis D. Brandeis Center, in collaboration with StandWithUS, initiated legal action against the state. The lawsuit accuses California of permitting widespread harassment that targets Jewish and Israeli students in its public education system.
The legal challenge represents Jewish parents who claim their children have endured “relentless and widespread anti-Semitism” in California’s public schools.
The plaintiffs are pressing for judicial intervention, asserting that the state has not safeguarded Jewish students in accordance with California’s legal standards, stating, “The conditions resemble those of historic European and Soviet-era discrimination,” as noted in the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The complaint further alleges that California teachers frequently act not just as passive bystanders but as active participants in anti-Semitic incidents targeting Jewish and Israeli students.
Numerous school districts up and down the state have been named, including Los Angeles, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, and more.
The suit outlines several examples of alleged anti-Semitism and discriminatory conduct at the various schools.
- One example involved a seventh grader, at the University Preparatory Academy in Santa Clara County, who was chased by two boys shouting, “We want you to die” after speaking in Hebrew. The suit alleged the girl’s school did nothing.
- Another incident occurred at Kester Elementary School, part of LAUSD, when a third-grade Jewish student was called “a racist” by her teacher and barred from performing in a talent show.
- At Louis Armstrong Middle School, also part of LAUSD, a teacher repeatedly meted out unfounded discipline to a seventh-grade Jewish student who wore a Star of David necklace and Israel-related shirts to school. Other students have called their Jewish peers anti-Semitic names and even assaulted them. In each case, school administrators failed to take meaningful action to address the anti-Semitism, according to the press release.
The suit alleges the CA public schools not only permitted, but at times encouraged, an “ongoing hostile environment for Jewish students.”
Melissa Alexander, middle school parent in LA, said that “All children deserve to feel respected, safe and protected in their schools, and there needs to be accountability within the LAUSD system to stop anti-Semitism wherever it’s seen, especially if it’s promoted by teachers who are responsible to protect students.
“This is more than just a lawsuit for our family. It’s about helping to create a safer future for all Jewish students so that no other student feels unprotected in the future.”
Other Jewish organizations have also shown their support for the lawsuit.
“More than half a million students attend L.A. public schools, including 50,000 Jewish children. Rising anti-Semitism in our classrooms is leaving some students unsafe and unprotected. California already has 2 strong laws to prevent hate and discrimination—now they must be enforced consistently so every child can learn safely with dignity,” said Rabbi Noah Farkas, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation.
“When any child experiences hate unchecked, it threatens the safety and moral integrity of our entire public education system.”
The Jewish organizations are asking the court to monitor the schools where anti-Semitism is a problem, and eliminate anti-Semitic curriculum and instruction, have mandatory anti-Semitism training for teachers and administrators, and more.