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Edited by: TJVNews.com
The Rabbinical Alliance of America—Igud HaRabbonim, representing over 950 American rabbis—expresses outrage over the overt and vile anti-Semitic riot that occurred on November 20, 2023, at Hillcrest High School in Queens, New York. According to education officials, an investigation is underway at the school, where an undetermined number of students have been suspended after storming the hallways to target a Jewish teacher who had attended a pro-Israel rally. As reported, an estimated 400 teens at Hillcrest High School flooded the Hillcrest corridors on November 20th to protest the staffer, who shared a photo of herself online at a demonstration off school premises, according to viral social media videos. The disturbance forced a lockdown, while the teacher was forced to hide in an office.
The anti-Semitic incident was blasted by Schools Chancellor David Banks at a press conference as being “completely unacceptable.” Mayor Adams said, “[t]he vile show of anti-Semitism 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. We are better than this.”
Rabbi Mendy Mirocznik, executive vice-president of the Rabbinical Alliance of America stated, “while the Rabbinical Alliance of America appreciates and applauds how seriously Mayor Adams and Schools Chancellor Banks are treating the anti-Semitic incident at Hillcrest High School, we nevertheless have deep concerns over the safety of Jewish teachers and students in the New York City public schools. Efforts have to be made to educate our children, parents, teachers and staff to be aware how their words and actions can have a dangerous and destructive impact on the educational environment and the potential of becoming physically dangerous.
“Imagine if such a riot had occurred against a minority teacher. The nation would be up in arms. Students would be disciplined. Administrators who would not address this issue of student and faculty safety immediately and effectively would be forced to resign. We do not want to pit minorities against each other nor compare suffering or past discrimination. However, we demand that action be taken to ensure that minority students and teachers do not face hostility and oppression anywhere in this country and certainly not in schools. There needs to be safety and support for Jewish students and teachers in all our schools and public places. Just like it is unthinkable for a school to experience an anti-minority riot, neither can a school have an anti-Semitic riot.
“What happened at Hillcrest High School is a wake-up call to the hostility and anti-Semitism facing Jewish Americans across the country at this time. America, as a society, must treat anti-Semitism with the same stigma it treats other hatreds. Anti-Semitism should be met with the same societal condemnation with which we treat other prejudices and vile acts of bigotry. As long as there are different standards of review or perceived difference in reaction when it comes to combatting anti-Semitism, the potential for a recurrence of the Hillcrest High School remains plausible.”
