The U.S. Department of Education has launched an investigation into a civil rights complaint filed against Baltimore City Public Schools, where Jewish students have allegedly been subjected to “persistent discrimination and harassment.”
The ADL’s complaint says that while Jewish students, who make up a small percentage of the student body, have faced harassment for years, incidents have escalated since the reignited war in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Israel.
The complaint includes examples of bullying behavior at several schools within the district. At Mount Washington School, an elementary and middle school, non-Jewish students allegedly sent their Jewish peers text messages with links to a “Zionist or Nazi?” quiz, performed Nazi salutes toward them on the playground, and told them, “We should call Hamas and have them come here,” referring to the terrorist group that controls Gaza. At Bard High School Early College, a teacher was alleged to have directed multiple Nazi salutes at the sole Jewish student in his class.
The ADL further alleges that Jewish parents raised concerns about these incidents and proposed solutions but that the school system either ignored their complaints or failed to take sufficient action.
Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights for the Education Department, called the alleged actions “appalling and infuriating.”
“If true, these allegations confirm a disturbing trend: too many of our nation’s educational institutions are failing American students by fostering a hatred of their own country and a tolerance for a deeply destructive ancient hatred,” he said in a statement.
“Baltimore City Public Schools is committed to fostering a culture of tolerance, respect, and civility,” they said in response to the ADL complaint. “Bullying and harassment have no place in our schools, and we unequivocally reject antisemitism and hate in any form.”
“City Schools stands in solidarity with our Jewish community and with all who seek to create safe, inclusive, and respectful learning environments,” they added. “We have condemned hateful behavior and taken action to hold students and staff accountable when our values and policies are violated.”
The district emphasized that anyone with concerns about bullying and harassment is welcome to report them.
The U.S. Department of Education’s investigation follows other ongoing probes into anti-Semitism at institutions of higher education, including Yale University, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and California’s Scripps College. These investigations stem from complaints filed by the ADL regarding allegedly inadequate handling of anti-Semitic incidents since the Israel–Hamas war broke out in October 2023.
The ongoing Middle East War has not only stirred tensions on college campuses but has also become a flashpoint in K-12 public schools across the United States.
In July, rank-and-file members of the National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest teachers’ union, called for boycotting the ADL over its support for Israel. The measure would have had the NEA stop using ADL materials on anti-Semitism and Holocaust education or promoting ADL statistics or programs.
