Parents Detail Antisemitic Violence Against Students In Major California Lawsuit

Jewish organizations have filed a lawsuit against the state of California, alleging the government failed to curb antisemitism in schools. The suit, filed by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and StandWithUs on February 26, says Jewish children were subjected to harassment in schools and authorities made little effort to address the issue.

The state of California, the California Department of Education, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond are named as defendants in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs include several Jewish parents whose children faced discrimination at schools because of their religion.

The complaint mentions multiple school districts, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley, Santa Clara, Oakland, Fremont, and San Jose. The plaintiffs highlight multiple incidents in which children faced anti-Semitism.

One parent alleged that their middle-school daughter was choked by another student in the Etiwanda School District. According to the complaint, the attacker shouted, “Shut your stupid Jewish a– up,” but the victim found no support from the school.

Another parent has stated that a Kester Elementary School teacher called their third-grade son a ‘racist’ and stopped him from participating in a talent show. A ninth-grader has alleged that their teacher at Berkeley High School displayed an anti-Semitic artwork in their class after the October 7 Hamas attack in 2023.

A seventh-grade Jewish student in Santa Clara was allegedly chased by two boys, who yelled, “We want you to die.” The plaintiffs argue that California has not been able to stop these incidents, and even when parents complain about the harassment, they do not receive a proper answer from schools.

“California teachers are too often not only the enablers but the perpetrators of antisemitic attacks against Jewish and Israeli students under their charge,” reads the suit.

Kenneth Marcus, the chairman of the Brandeis Center, emphasized the importance of the lawsuit in an official statement.

He said, “The California education system is teaching the state’s children that Jewish Americans and Israelis are racists, white supremacists, oppressors, and baby-killers who should be shunned.”

“School officials have done little or nothing at all to help these children. It is the state’s legal responsibility to defend and protect innocent children from discrimination and bigotry, not foster hate as California has been doing.” Marcus continued.

Jewish parents have echoed similar sentiments. Melissa Alexander, the mother of a middle school student in Los Angeles, told The New York Post, “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.”

Through the lawsuit, the organizations seek accountability from schools and want them to take proactive measures to stop future discrimination. They also want authorities to investigate past incidents of antisemitism in classrooms. At the same time, the organization seeks the removal of potentially anti-Semitic curriculum.

The news comes just a couple of days after the Department of Justice sued the University of California’s Los Angeles campus. The Civil Rights Division of the Department has claimed that UCLA did not prevent discriminatory conduct against Jewish students and staff after the Hamas attack in Israel.