K-12 school administrators condemn antisemitism, but lawmakers raise concerns about future actions

The House put school administrators from across the nation are in the hot seat over antisemitism on Wednesday, and while all of them condemned antisemitism, the House Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee chair voiced concerns about whether they would actually act on their promises.

During a hearing titled "Confronting Pervasive Antisemitism in K-12 Schools," three school administrators condemned antisemitism, voiced support for Israel and were critical of the phrase, "From the River to the Sea," which the American Jewish Committee and other Jewish groups see as an antisemitic phrase calling for the destruction of Israel.

While the administrators condemned antisemitism, Subcommittee Chair Aaron Bean, R-Fla., noted that many college administrators have made similar pledges before, only to subsequently have massive anti-Israel protests break out with Jewish students being targeted.. 

"We have done quite a bit," NYC Public School Chancellor David Banks testified before the committee. "We have a long way to go, there's always more to do."

Banks said that students have been suspended and at least one faculty member has been removed in connection to a student riot targeting a Jewish teacher in Queens last fall.

Montgomery County Board of Education President Karla Silvestre of Maryland, Berkeley Unified School District Enikia Ford Morthel of California and American Civil Liberties Union Attorney Emerson Sykes also testified before the committee.

"We at the ACLU believe strongly in the importance of protecting the rights of students, of teachers and of parents, but those are not unlimited, and as I mentioned, Title VI says that the schools must act when there's a hostile educational environment," Sykes told lawmakers. "It doesn't say that someone must be fired. I think we need to think a little bit more creatively about how we can respond to antisemitism and root out this idea."

Sykes also said that "firing may be appropriate in certain circumstances," but the focus should be on addressing antisemitism and how to "change hearts and minds."

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