Fairfax County Public Schools under fire after students post anti-Semitic video
Fairfax County Public Schools' students post anti-Semitic video
There is controversy within Fairfax County Public Schools after a group of students posted anti-Semitic videos on social media. FOX 5’s Shomari Stone reports.
WASHINGTON - There is controversy within Fairfax County Public Schools after a group of students posted anti-Semitic videos on social media.
What we know:
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington says some students from Thomas Jefferson High School and at Langley High School posted the anti-Semitic videos.
FCPS officials tell FOX 5 that the videos depicted violence, kidnapping and imitating taking Jews as hostages. Some of the videos show victims being hooded and placed in the trunk of a car.
What they're saying:
Fairfax County Public School officials sent FOX 5 a written statement saying in part:
"Acting out these types of violent acts is traumatizing for many of us to watch and, given world events, especially traumatizing to our Jewish students, staff, and community. FCPS would never consider these videos to be appropriate or acceptable content. Any students found to be violating our Student Rights and Responsibilities will be held accountable for their actions," the statement read.
Dig deeper:
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington says FCPS has a long history of struggling with school-based anti-Semitism, adding that the Jewish community is upset.
The parents who have seen this video are beyond outraged. It's almost chilling to see teenagers so lively acting out something that is so horrific," Guila Franklin Siegel, Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington CEO.
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington told me they'll continue to be in constant conversation with FCPS board members to make sure these students are held accountable for their hate.
Read more:
Here is the full statement from Guila Franklin Siegel, chief operating officer of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington:
"Fairfax County Public Schools has a long history of struggling with school-based antisemitism. We appreciate Superintendent Michelle Reid’s sincere commitment to making FCPS a more welcoming and inclusive environment for Jewish students and families. However, the school system’s slow and nontransparent response to several recent incidents demonstrates that FCPS must do more to properly address such behavior.
"In particular, we are appalled that some FCPS high school students used unauthorized social media accounts bearing FCPS school names to imitate hostage-taking and violent deaths. It is never appropriate to make light of such horrific acts, but it is especially callous and cruel to do so when Hamas continues to hold the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages more than two years after committing the worst mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust. The trauma that all families impacted by the Israel-Hamas war have experienced over the past two years remains fresh. Making light of violence during a time of war is beyond the pale.
"JCRC has been in close contact with the highest levels of FCPS leadership to ensure that school officials understand the gravity of this situation and to demand accountability. FCPS must determine whether students have violated school conduct codes with this behavior, and if so, discipline them accordingly. The district should take any steps necessary, including legal action if needed, to ensure that school names, images, and logos do not appear on unauthorized social media accounts. School officials must communicate transparently and with moral clarity to the entire school system about these incidents. All people of goodwill should be horrified by this.
"These videos show why schools must do more to incorporate empathy and understanding into every student’s learning experience. As one of the largest and most diverse school systems in the country, FCPS should be a leader in this effort."