Protesters gathered at CUNY Chancellor Felix V. Matos Rodriguez’s office under the mantra ‘End Jew Hatred’ to protest growing antisemitism within CUNY and their campuses on Sept. 12, 2023. Photo by Meir Chaimowitz/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect

Jewish civil rights nonprofit End Jew Hatred (EJH) held an “emergency rally” outside the New York City Department of Education (DOE) on Wednesday to call for eradicating antisemitism in public schools.

Organized in partnership with New York City Public School Alliance — which describes itself as an advocacy group — the demonstration follows a series of disturbing incidents and expressions of pro-Hamas sentiment on New York City public school campuses since Oct. 7, including pro-Hamas walkouts led by teachers, mass demonstrations in which students screamed “globalize the intifada,” and the mobbing of a teacher who posted pro-Israel content on social media, which resulted in her hiding in an office.

The groups are urging New York City Public School Chancellor David Banks to protect Jewish and pro-Israel staff by increasing Jewish representation in the DOE, monitoring educational content that contributes to delegitimizing Israel and Zionism, and adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism — a tool used by hundreds of governing institutions, including the US State Department, European Union, and the United Nations and supported by lawmakers across the political spectrum.

“Chancellor Banks has failed to act on rising Jew-hatred across the NYC public school system,” Adar Rubin, EJH director of mobilization, said in a press release issued on Wednesday. “We need understanding for the unique trauma experienced by Jewish students and teachers, and immediate action to address antisemitism in a manner that embraces and supports Jewish identity in all its forms, including indigeneity to Israel and the Middle East.”

According to the New York Post, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) announced last Monday new policies for addressing “Islamophobia, antisemitism, or any other form of bigotry” as well as empowering school administrators to discipline students who commit acts of harassment and intimidation, which New York City Schools have been restrained from doing since the Obama administration, when progressives in the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) began launching civil rights investigations against public schools that suspended disruptive and violent students, a measure they accused of perpetuating racism.

“We cannot and we will not have schools where students feel like they can do whatever they want without accountability for their actions,” Banks said last Monday during a press conference about the reforms. “That is no way to run a school system, and we will not allow that to happen, certainly not on my watch.”

Under the Biden administration, New York City’s DOE is being investigated for ignoring antisemitism, in contravention of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.