Thursday, November 21, 2024
California Jewish families sue school district over antisemitic incidents
A group of Jewish families has filed a lawsuit against Sequoia Union High School District in California, alleging the administration failed to protect students from what they describe as rampant antisemitism, discrimination, and harassment from both students and faculty members.
"Antisemitism is on the rise and somehow becoming culturally acceptable," Sam Kasle, one of the parents who filed the lawsuit, told Fox & Friends First host Carley Shimkus on Tuesday.
In an interview with Fox & Friends First, Kasle described an incident where his daughter encountered propaganda from a teacher wearing "Free Palestine" clothing. According to Kasle, during a vocabulary matching test, students were instructed to define "Palestine" as a country formally recognized by the UN in 1947. He added that the same class included a definition of Hamas as "a political party continuing the fight against Israel."
"When she brought this up to the teacher... he belittled her, made an example of her," Kasle alleged during the interview.
The legal action highlights several similar incidents that began following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack in Israel that resulted in over 1,200 deaths and sparked the ongoing war with the terrorist organization. Since the war's outbreak, thousands of protests have emerged across US college campuses.
According to the lawsuit, SUHSD officials and teachers allegedly distributed antisemitic materials, permitted anti-Jewish jokes and slurs, and reportedly advised Jewish students to hide their religious identities to avoid harassment.
The legal filing also describes an incident where a swastika was found etched into the pavement at Woodside High School's campus. When alerted, district authorities allegedly dismissed the symbol as "spiritual symbol[s] from Japanese Buddhism" rather than addressing it as a hate symbol, according to the lawsuit.
This trend extends beyond the district, with a recent StopAntisemitism report revealing that 72% of Jewish college students in the USA feel "unwelcome" on their campuses, with more than half reporting experiences of antisemitic incidents.
Kasle and other parents expressed disappointment with the district's response. "The administration basically circled the wagons over the past year," he told Fox & Friends First. "And regardless of their formal processes, they really didn't lift a finger. Their number one responsibility is not to protect themselves or the teachers, but to protect the children."
When reached for comment by Fox & Friends First, the Sequoia Union High School District did not respond.
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