Human rights organizations filed a federal civil rights complaint against the Berkeley Unified School District Feb. 28 claiming “severe and persistent” harassment and discrimination of Jewish students.
The organizations claim the district failed to take action to end nonstop bullying and harassment of Jewish students by their peers and teachers since Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel and killed around 1,200 Israelis and foreigners and kidnapped several hundred others.
Incidents of anti-Semitism have surged throughout the district since the invasion and have included walkouts during school hours praising Hamas, and teachers allegedly using class time to tell students the Hamas invasion was admirable “resistance,” according to the complaint.
Students have also bullied Jewish peers and made fun of their physical appearance, the groups claim.
The actions violate federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination based on race, color, and national origin, according to the complaint.
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said teachers and administrators at the district were failing in their duty to protect Jewish students.
“There is no more solemn or basic obligation than protecting our children from the moment when they walk into the doors of their schools, and to fail so monumentally that children feel forced to hide their Jewish identity for fear of reprisal is downright shocking,” Mr. Greenblatt said.
The complaint alleges one high school art teacher spent class time sharing anti-Semitic views with students, showing them violent pro-Hamas videos, and displaying anti-Israel and anti-Semitic images during class, including a fist holding a Palestinian flag punching through a Star of David. The complaint includes other instances of teachers sharing anti-Israel views and lessons.
The incidents have left Jewish students worried about mob violence, according to the complaint. Some have also removed their Stars of David, no longer wear Jewish camp t-shirts, and hide their Judaism in school because of pervasive bullying, the groups reported.
The district has received a record number of anti-Semitism complaints, and a letter signed by about 1,370 community members was sent to the district’s superintendent and Board of Education, saying they were “dismayed, disappointed, and frightened by the district’s lack of care” for the students’ physical and psychological safety since Oct. 7.
The Brandeis Center claims school administrators in the Berkeley district moved Jewish students to other classes instead of addressing anti-Semitism, or offered to have them sit in the health center or the library.
Forcing these students to move to new classes in the middle of the semester has allowed teachers to continue anti-Semitic rhetoric while forcing Jewish students to catch up on class materials they missed and adjust to new teachers and classes, according to the complaint.
“Jewish and Israeli students were also left isolated and abandoned during walkouts with no educational instruction,” the groups wrote in a press release Wednesday.
In a statement sent to The Epoch Times, Berkeley Unified School District Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel said the district stands against hate.
“We believe that classrooms are spaces where all students must feel safe, seen, and heard. We work to make these spaces responsive and humanizing for our diverse students—places of joy, empathy, curiosity, love and rigor,” said Ms. Morthel.
“Berkeley Unified stands against all forms of hate. This is a message we share widely and frequently in our school community. The district continuously encourages students and families to report any incidents of bullying or hate-motivated behavior and vigorously investigates each and every report. We stay in communication and work in collaboration with various members of our diverse community and have recently had focused conversations on these specific concerns. While we have not received official notification of the recent federal complaint, the district will work with the Office of Civil Rights in support of a thorough investigation. We remain committed to engaging with our community to ensure that BUSD is a district that lives up to its values of excellence, engagement, equity, and enrichment.”
The Brandeis Center has also filed federal complaints against Wellesley, SUNY New Paltz, the University of Southern California, Brooklyn College, University of Illinois, University of California, and American University.
The Brandeis Center and ADL, along with other Jewish organizations, also recently filed a lawsuit to stop anti-Semitic content from being taught in Santa Ana, California, public schools.
In addition, the groups, along with Hillel International, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, and other law firms and Jewish organizations, launched the Campus Antisemitism Legal Line, a free legal protection helpline for college students who have experienced anti-Semitism.
