Latest news with #BrandeisCenter
Toronto Sun
4 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
MCCAUGHEY: Scaring and bullying Jewish schoolkids on ballot this November
Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, speaks at the United Federation of Teachers headquarters for an endorsement event in New York City. 'From the river to the sea' is shorthand for the obliteration of Israel. It's a phrase meant to terrorize. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Here in the U.S., from the Hudson River to the Pacific Ocean, antisemitism is surging in public schools. The administration of President Donald Trump, which is cracking down on the abuse of Jewish students on college campuses, also needs to turn its attention to the public schools. And people of all faiths need to object. Jews shouldn't have to fight this battle alone. In New York City, antisemitic graffiti, bullying, anti-Jewish slurs and pro-Hamas propaganda are tolerated in public schools, according to the Brandeis Center, a human rights organization. In Baltimore, Jewish students 'have had to isolate themselves, drop classes, eat lunch alone and hide their Jewish identities to avoid harassment,' including from one teacher who repeatedly threatened to go 'all Nazi,' according to a civil rights complaint submitted to the U.S. Department of Education on July 22. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. California State Assembly member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan said through tears that 'students are being taught to hate my children … because they're Jewish.' Most troubling, rank-and-file public school teachers across the nation are on board with antisemitism. Last month, members of the nation's largest teachers' union, the National Education Association, voted to redefine the Holocaust, erasing any mention of the extermination of six million Jews. The woke definition, included in the NEA handbook, recognizes 'the more than 12 million victims' from 'different faiths, ethnicities, races, political beliefs, genders, and gender identification, abilities/disabilities, and other targeted characteristics.' This is a hateful falsehood. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. NEA members also voted to educate the public about the Nakba: The 'forced, violent displacement and dispossession of at least 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland in 1948 during the establishment of the state of Israel,' as the union puts it. The handbook has since been removed from the NEA website in response to criticism from Jewish groups. But this is what a majority of NEA members — teachers in public schools — voted for. A generation of college students indoctrinated in antisemitism has brought the same hate to the public schools where they teach. You can also thank the teachers' unions. In NYC, the powerful United Federation of Teachers endorsed mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on July 8, citing his willingness to cede mayoral control of the schools 'to give more say to educators and parents.' Cross out 'parents.' It will be a union takeover. Period. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. New York State United Teachers, the statewide parent union for the UFT, already has a tight grip on school boards across the state, fielding candidates for most boards and winning 91% of the time. NYSUT is intent on making schools left-wing propaganda machines, the religious teachings of parents be damned. On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that parents have a right to opt their elementary school-aged children out of instruction that violates their religious teachings. The case involved LGBTQ+ themes that Muslim, Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox parents didn't want taught to their children. But the significance of the ruling goes beyond LGBTQ+. If Jewish parents in New York object to their children hearing a woke rewriting of the Holocaust or a view of Palestine that vilifies Jews, will they be able to opt their children out? This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. No. They'll be in for a fight, according to NYSUT. On July 28, the union issued a response to the court, saying it applied 'to a single school district' and that 'educators and school leaders are best positioned to select materials.' Parents with religious scruples can take a hike. Mamdani has expressed almost no interest in education policy, aside from attacking specialized high schools, even though more money is consumed by the Department of Education than by any other city agency. RECOMMENDED VIDEO Indifferent to what education means to parents striving for their children's futures, Mamdani has cynically suggested that Jamaal Bowman, the scandal-scarred former congressman, be considered to lead Gotham's public school system, the largest in America, as NYC schools chancellor. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read More Even members of his party are unimpressed. New York State Democratic Committee Chairman Jay Jacobs commented in March that Bowman should promote 'the economic interests of working-class Americans instead of continuing his antisemitic, pro-terrorist advocacy.' Don't count on Bowman or Mamdani to heed that advice. It's time for New Yorkers and Americans everywhere to oppose the Jew-hating in our public schools. First, the Jews are targeted, then Catholics and, before long, America isn't America anymore. – Betsy McCaughey is a former Lt. Governor of New York State and founder of SAVENYC World Celebrity Wrestling Columnists Golf
New York Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Jew hate is surging in public schools and teachers' unions lead the way
'From the river to the sea' — shorthand for the obliteration of Israel. It's a phrase meant to terrorize. Here in the United States, from the Hudson River to the Pacific, antisemitism is surging in public schools. As President Donald Trump cracks down on the abuse of Jewish students on college campuses, he needs to turn attention also to our elementary and high schools — and people of all faiths must stand up to object. Advertisement Jews shouldn't have to fight this battle alone. In New York City, antisemitic graffiti and bullying, anti-Jewish slurs, and pro-Hamas propaganda are tolerated in the public schools, according to a lawsuit filed by the Brandeis Center on behalf of teachers who were terrorized by their students. In Baltimore, Jewish students 'have had to isolate themselves, drop classes, eat lunch alone, and hide their Jewish identifies to avoid harassment' — including from one teacher who repeatedly threatened to go 'all Nazi' on them, according to a civil-rights complaint submitted to the US Department of Education last month. Advertisement In June, California state Assembly member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan tearfully testified that 'students are being taught to hate my children . . . because they're Jewish.' And rank-and-file public-school teachers across the nation are on board with that hate. Members of the nation's largest teachers' union, the National Education Association, voted in July to redefine the Holocaust — with language that erased any mention of the extermination of 6 million Jews. The woke definition instead recognizes 'more than 12 million victims' from 'different faiths, political beliefs, genders, and gender identification, abilities/disabilities, and other targeted characteristics.' Advertisement That's a hateful falsehood and a twisting of history. NEA members also voted to educate students about the Nabka — in the union's words, the 'forced, violent displacement and dispossession of at least 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland in 1948 during the establishment of the state of Israel.' Both those measures were included in the NEA Handbook, a document recently removed from the union's website after it sparked critics' blowback. But it's what a majority of NEA members — teachers in public schools — voted for. Advertisement A generation of college students, steeped in antisemitism by leftist professors, is bringing the same hate to the public schools where they teach. Teachers' unions bear a share of the blame, too. In New York City the powerful United Federation of Teachers endorsed mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani last month, citing his willingness to cede mayoral control of city schools 'to give more say to educators and parents.' Cross out 'parents'; the UFT is gunning for a union takeover. Period. New York State United Teachers, the UFT's statewide umbrella group, already has a tight grip on local school boards across the Empire State — fielding candidates for most boards and winning 91% of the time. NYSUT is intent on making the schools left-wing propaganda machines, parents' wishes be damned. According to the US Supreme Court, parents have a right to opt their elementary school-aged children out of instruction that violates their religious teachings. Advertisement The case, decided just this year, involved LGBTQ+ themes that Muslim and Christian parents didn't want taught to their children — but the significance of the ruling goes far beyond that one issue. If Jewish parents in New York object to their children being subjected to a woke rewriting of the Holocaust, or a view of Palestine that vilifies Jews, will they be able to opt their children out? No. They'll be in for a fight, according to NYSUT. On July 28, the union issued a response to the high court's ruling, claiming it applies only 'to a single school district' — and that 'educators and school leaders are best positioned to select materials.' Advertisement Parents with religious scruples can take a hike. Mamdani has expressed almost no interest in education policy, aside from attacking the city's specialized high schools — even though the Department of Education consumes more money than any other city agency. Indifferent to what education means to parents striving for their children's futures, Mamdani has cynically suggested that Jamaal Bowman, the Israel-hating former congressman and fire-alarm enthusiast, should lead Gotham's public school system, the largest in America. Advertisement Even members of his own party are unimpressed by Bowman: State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs has said the ex-lawmaker should promote 'the economic interests of working-class Americans instead of continuing his antisemitic, pro-terrorist advocacy.' Don't count on Bowman or Mamdani to heed that advice. It's time for New Yorkers, and Americans everywhere, to oppose antisemitism in our public schools. Advertisement History's oldest hatred has no place in our kids' classrooms. Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York and co-founder of the Committee to Save Our City.
New York Post
01-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Posh Virginia private school that allegedly praised Hitler expelled three Jewish students who faced antisemitic bullying: complaint
A Northern Virginia private school celebrated as one of the best in the country allegedly expelled three Jewish siblings who endured relentless antisemitic harassment in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack on Israel — all while their community celebrated Hitler as a 'strong historical leader.' The Brandeis Center filed the complaint on behalf of the children's parents, Brian Vazquez and Ashok Roy, against the Nysmith School for the Gifted, a K-8 academy located just an hour outside of Washington, DC, and its headmaster, Kenneth Nysmith. The complaint asserts that the couple's 11-year-old daughter faced a 'campaign of ostracizing' led by a handful of 'popular students' on the sole basis that she is Jewish during the 2024-2025 school year. Advertisement 3 The Nysmith School for the Gifted allegedly expelled three Jewish students in March. The students, in an apparent gross misunderstanding of the conflict, cruelly taunted the girl for the death of her uncle, telling her they were glad he 'died in the October 7th attack,' according to the complaint. Her uncle died years earlier with no relation to the terror attack. Advertisement Some students mocked her for being 'Israeli' and dubbed Jews as 'baby killers,' unabashedly saying that 'they deserve to die because of what is happening in Gaza,' the complaint stated. Others doubled down and insisted that 'everyone at the school is against Jews and Israel, which is why they hate you,' according to the complaint. One middle school social studies project tasked the students to sketch a child-sized drawing including 'six traits of a leader' following their studies of Niccolo Machiavelli's 'The Prince,' according to an email from the Nysmith School. The Frankenstein amalgam included weaponry associated with rulers from Machiavelli's time and a tie typically worn by modern-day businessmen or politicians. Advertisement The drawing's face, though, depicted a man's face with Adolf Hitler's unmistakable toothbrush mustache and slicked-back hair. 3 The school had a middle school project centered around their studies of Niccolo Machiavelli in which one group highlight Adolf Hitler as a strong leader. Vazquez and Roy reported the repeated incidents to Nysmith, who promised to take action. Weeks passed and no changes were made, according to the complaint. If anything, all change moved swiftly away from protecting Vazquez and Roy's daughter as the school soon thereafter cancelled its annual talk hosting a Holocaust survivor to speak with the student body about antisemitism. Advertisement Vazquez and Roy had one final meeting with Nysmith on March 11 to address how the harassment escalated ever since the school hung up a Palestinian flag in the school gym mere days after nixing the Holocaust talk. The Palestine flag hung alongside dozens of others for different countries, including Israel. The parents didn't take any issue with the Palestine flag being displayed, but were concerned that some students were using it to bolster their claims that 'nobody likes [Jewish people],' the complaint stated. Nysmith, having seemingly run out of patience, abruptly told the couple that their daughter should 'toughen up,' the complaint stated. 3 The school's headmaster and namesake, Kenneth Nysmith, allegedly told the bullied daughter's parents that she just needed to 'toughen up.' Linkedin Two days later, the parents received an email from the school notifying them of their children's expulsion, effective immediately in spite of their consistent involvement with the community and exemplary grades. 'A healthy partnership is required to help guide and nurture young children through tumultuous times and complex current events. I do not see a path forward without trust, understanding, and cooperation. In our meeting, I felt very clearly that you do not think Nysmith is the right school for your family,' Nysmith wrote. Vazquez and Roy never anticipated the expulsion and had already paid tuition for the following academic year, the complaint said. Advertisement Nysmith's email noted that the family would receive a check in the mail within two weeks for all fees paid that year and for the following year. It is unclear if the check was ever sent. 'Through [the Nysmith School's] actions, the administration sent a clear message: bullying is acceptable, as long as it's against Jewish families. We must all emulate the strength of these parents and their children and stand up to anti-Semitism and its perpetrators, as difficult as it may be,' Kenneth L. Marcus, chairman of the Brandeis Center, wrote in a statement. The complaint is seeking compensatory damages for a slew of costs such as the children's online courses and the inclusion of annual antisemitism training for the Nysmith school community. Nysmith rejected the allegations and asserted that the information circulating online is not complete in an email he forwarded in response to a message seeking comment from The Post, in which he also claimed he was 'not aware of any legal action involving the school.'
RNZ News
16-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Harvard settles Jewish student's lawsuit over alleged antisemitism
By Jonathan Stempel , Reuters Harvard University. Photo: AFP/Maddie Meyer Harvard University has settled a high-profile lawsuit by an Orthodox Jewish student who accused the Ivy League school of ignoring antisemitism on campus. Alexander Kestenbaum, who is known as Shabbos, and Harvard jointly agreed to end the case, according to a dismissal notice filed on Thursday in Boston federal court. "Harvard and Mr Kestenbaum acknowledge each other's steadfast and important efforts to combat antisemitism at Harvard and elsewhere," the university said in a statement on Thursday. "Harvard and Mr. Kestenbaum are pleased to have resolved the litigation." Settlement terms were not disclosed. Lawyers for Kestenbaum did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The settlement came four months after Harvard promised additional protections for Jewish students, as it resolved two lawsuits claiming it was a hotbed of rampant antisemitism. Both lawsuits were among many accusing universities of encouraging antisemitism after war broke out in Gaza in October 2023, leading to pro-Palestinian protests on many American campuses. Jewish students said Harvard tolerated their being maligned as "murderers" and subjected to viral attacks, and accused the university of hiring professors who promoted anti-Jewish violence and spread antisemitic propaganda. The lawsuits were brought by Students Against Antisemitism, and by Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education and the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law. Kestenbaum was a plaintiff in the Students Against Antisemitism lawsuit, but did not settle at the time. He graduated from Harvard Divinity School last year, and has become a growing voice in a Republican-led campaign to root out antisemitism in major American universities. Harvard is one of the chief targets of that campaign, and U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has frozen or terminated more than $2.6 billion of the university's federal grants and contracts in recent weeks. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based school is suing the Trump administration over grant cutoffs, mainly in medical sciences, calling them an unconstitutional attempt to curtail academic freedom and free speech. Another Ivy League school, Columbia University, is also a prime White House target over antisemitism. - Reuters
New York Post
30-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Jewish group urges Trump to investigate DEI programs for promoting antisemitism
A Jewish legal advocacy group is urging the Trump administration to launch a sweeping investigation and to halt federal funding to K-12 schools that are using DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion programs — to promote antisemitism. The Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law sent a bombshell 15-page letter to US Education Secretary Linda McMahon citing evidence of Jews being labeled as 'inherently racist [and] oppressive' and claiming that Jewish students are being discriminated against to achieve DEI for other minority groups. The group said DEI programs fomenting Jew hatred both violate the 1964 civil rights law and President Trump's Jan. 20 executive order to ban such initiatives, which the commander in chief himself described as 'illegal and immoral.' 3 The Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law is calling on the Trump administration to launch an investigation into K-12 schools using DEI to promote antisemitism. Photo by'If President Trump is serious about ending radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling, he should start with some of the antisemitic educators whom we have found,' said Kenneth Marcus, chairman & CEO of the Brandeis Center and former US assistant secretary of education. 'Ironically, some of the worst antisemitism is coming from 'progressive educators' who purveying anti-Jewish hatred in the name of 'liberated ethnic studies' and social justice education,' Marcus told The Post. The April 28 letter to McMahon cites blatant examples of school officials and teachers bashing Israel and Jews, particularly in California, including: A California district Office of Equity circulated a message to teachers and staff stating, 'Hands off Sacred Land from Shellmo[u]nd to Jerusalem' and 'Zionism is Racism.' A Berkeley second-grade teacher told her 7-year-old students to write messages on sticky notes condemning US support for Israel, stating, 'Stop bombing babies.' The notes were then posted outside the classroom of the only Jewish teacher in the school, the complaint said. The Los Angeles Unified School District approved materials for a 'Free Palestine' event and the teacher responsible for the event provided material to students that referred to Israel as 'Occupied Palestine' and used antisemitic tropes to demonize Israelis and Jews. The civil rights group also said teachers' unions in California and Massachusetts promote DEI- based, antisemitic teachings. And an unapproved course of study called 'Teach Palestine' is spreading across the US 'thanks to the teachers' union,' the Brandeis Center lawyers said. 3 The group sent Secretary of Education Linda McMahon evidence that schools are discriminating against Jews. Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images The complaint claimed school districts are contracting with outside groups like the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) and allowing them to 'indoctrinate' students with their own DEI-based, antisemitic agendas. 'We have evidence that California school districts in San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley have allowed AROC to come onto school grounds and gain access to schoolchildren, whom they engage outside of class, and ply with propaganda and hateful messages about Jews and Israel,' the letter said. Brandeis Center lawyers told McMahon, 'Anti-Semitic indoctrination is an increasingly pervasive and dangerous part of DEI programming that is being taught in K-12 schools across America. The anti-Semitic propaganda brought into schools by teachers, unions, and third-party contractors …. indoctrinate students with messages of anti-Jewish and anti-American hate and fosters a hostile environment for Jewish students in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 'Any plan for eliminating federal funding pursuant under Trump's executive order should include provisions target educators who condone or enable anti-Semitic curricula, instruction, programs, or activities disguised as 'DEI,' the group said. 3 The group is asking the Trump administration to halt federal funding to schools found to have been promoting antisemitism. AFP via Getty Images The group asked McMahon to: Investigate and when substantiated, halt federal funding for school districts that refuse to address or 'intentionally perpetrate' acts that are 'harming Jewish and other children in their care.' Review anti-Semitic DEI materials promoted by teachers and their unions, third party contractors and so-called 'liberated' ethnic studies curricula that are being installed in high schools. 'We at the Brandeis Center have seen DEI used as a tool by teachers, teachers' unions, and third-party contractors to foment Jew-hatred in K-12 schools,' Rachel Lerman and Denise Katz-Prober of the Brandeis Center said in the letter. 'Jewish parents and children have suffered—and are suffering—directly from DEI-based lessons that teach students, inter alia, to regard Jews as evil `oppressors' who should be marginalized, outcast, and justifiably subject to discrimination, harassment or worse.' The DEI narrative categorizes Jews and Jewish children as 'oppressors' who are 'white' and 'privileged' — regardless of skin color or family history, the center said. Many DEI-proponents also praise and justify the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel as legitimate 'resistance' and 'falsely teaching children that the State of Israel is a 'settler colonial' and 'apartheid'' regime that has no right to exist. The US Education Department had no immediate comment. McMahon's agency did not open a civil rights probe into the Chicago Public School System for launching a remedial program that only aided black students and not other students who are struggling academically.
