New York City Mayor Adams slams 'vile show of antisemitism' at Queens high school

New York City Mayor Eric Adams slammed what he called a "vile show of antisemitism" on display at a high school in Queens when a mob of hundreds of students rampaged through the halls in response to a teacher who attended a pro-Israel rally in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.

The teacher, who is remaining anonymous out of safety concerns, hid in her locked office for nearly two hours until police quelled the riot last week, The New York Post reported. 

"The vile show of antisemitism at Hillcrest High School was motivated by ignorance-fueled hatred, plain and simple, and it will not be tolerated in any of our schools, let alone anywhere else in our city," Adams said Saturday on X, formerly Twitter, in response to the Post's story. "We are better than this."

New York City Public Schools is investigating the incident, and Project PIVOT, a community group supporting student development, is reaching out to students this week to "ensure they understand why this behavior was unacceptable," Adams also said.

One student, an 18-year-old, was arrested a day after the riot and charged with aggravated harassment for allegedly making threats over a group chat.

Follow Madeleine Hubbard on X or Instagram.