A New York City public school teacher attended a Manhattan vigil last week commemorating those killed in the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, joining protesters who praised Hamas and shouted slogans including “globalize the intifada,” according to allegations detailed in a complaint obtained by The Post.
Mia Kurzer, a special education teacher at The Heritage School in East Harlem, was captured on video at the Union Square gathering, where some demonstrators reportedly carried flags associated with Hamas and Hezbollah. The footage was cited in a complaint submitted to the Department of Education and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels.
The Jewish activist and educator who filed the complaint is calling for an investigation into whether Kurzer’s conduct contributed to a hostile environment for Jewish students and staff at the school.
“Last night, pro-Palestinian demonstrators overran an October 7 vigil in Union Square organized by Israelis for Peace, drowned out the reading of the names of people killed, and took over chairs reserved for participants, including Comptroller Brad Lander and Mayor Zohran Mamdani,” Moshe Spern wrote in his formal Oct. 8 complaint.
“Video from the event shows Ms. Kurzer among those occupying those seats while mourners were being shouted down. Chants reported at the scene included ‘[globalize] the intifada’ and praise for the attackers,” Spern wrote.
Spern said he possesses video showing Kurzer at the event.
“She was comfortable sitting among the Hamas flags and Hamas chants,” he told The Post Sunday.
Spern’s complaint also alleged that Kurzer arrived at school earlier that day wearing a keffiyeh.
“That choice made staff and students uncomfortable and signaled political activism inside a New York City public school,” he said.
Spern further accused the Department of Education of failing to act on an earlier complaint concerning Kurzer’s alleged participation in demonstrations outside Park East Synagogue in Manhattan.
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“A year ago I notified you that Ms. Kurzer participated in both protests outside Park East Synagogue on November 19, 2025, and May 2026, at which demonstrators chanted ‘intifada revolution,’ ‘globalize the intifada,’ and ‘death to the IDF,’ and Jewish congregants were obstructed from entering their house of worship,” Spern wrote to the chancellor.
“Those demonstrations were widely condemned, including by Governor Hochul, as intimidation of Jewish New Yorkers at a synagogue led by a Holocaust survivor,” he added.
Spern contended that the allegations, taken together, point to an ongoing pattern of hostility toward Israel and Jewish people.
“Taken together, the synagogue protests at which intifada was chanted, an unanswered OEO [ Office of Equal Opportunity & Diversity Management] referral, disruption of an October 7 vigil, and wearing a keffiyeh in school on 10/7, this is not an isolated incident,” he wrote. “It is a continuing course of conduct by a DOE employee that creates a hostile environment for Jewish students and staff and is incompatible with the Department’s obligations under Chancellor’s Regulation A-830, A-421, and Title VI.”
He asked the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management to investigate or refer the matter to the Special Commissioner on Schools Investigation.
“Jewish students and staff are entitled to a school that does not employ someone who joins mobs outside synagogues and then marks October 7 with a political symbol in the building,” Spern said.
Kurzer’s involvement in anti-Israel demonstrations reportedly began during her college years.
In 2024, CNN interviewed Kurzer about her participation in anti-Israel protests at the University of Wisconsin, where she was then a student. She said she is Jewish and attended Hebrew school as a child. Critics nevertheless condemned her participation and questioned her Jewish identity, calling her “not a real Jew.”
Reached by phone, Kurzer declined to comment.
The Post reported last week on another New York City teacher, Damien Neva, who allegedly posted “Long live Yahya al-Sinwar” in a group chat, according to a lawsuit. The message praised the Hamas leader identified as the architect of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
Neva is now under investigation by city education officials.