Jewish leaders urge Montgomery County school officials to combat 'skyrocketing' antisemitism

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - Local Jewish leaders are urging officials with Montgomery County Public Schools to do more to combat antisemitism. 

The backstory:

More than 40 Montgomery County rabbis and cantors sent a letter to officials with Montgomery County public schools (MCPS), explaining that over the last three years, they’ve witnessed "skyrocketing school-based antisemitism."

"We meet regularly with students who are hurt and confused, and parents who are angry that their children are experiencing harassment, isolation, and threats to their fundamental physical and emotional safety," the clergy wrote. 

They also cited antisemitism statistics from both the Anti-Defamation League and MCPS itself.

The Montgomery County Police Department’s daily crime summaries, which are released publicly, show frequent anti-Semitic incidents in schools as well. Just in the past week, police said there was a swastika found on a classroom desk at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, as well as an antisemitic symbol found in a high school locker room, a swastika under a desk, and racial and antisemitic graffiti on a bathroom wall.

What they're saying:

The religious leaders are now asking MCPS officials to do the following three things: 

• Implement substantive teacher training specific to antisemitism.
• Use experiential learning programs to teach Jewish identity, antisemitism, and the Holocaust.
• Establish and consistently enforce clear guidelines and consequences for social media behaviors that negatively impact students at schools.

"There are regular occurrences of whether it’s the appearance of swastikas or other symbols of hate, whether it’s kids using Nazi slurs against their fellow students, whether it’s ideas around Israel, anti-Zionism being weaponized against Jewish students. It has become normalized," said Rabbi Adam Raskin of Congregation Har Shalom in Potomac. "There’s no excuse for a place like Montgomery County, Maryland to harbor this level of hate, intolerance, misunderstanding. This county, this community, deserves better, and the school system needs to take this much more seriously."

What's next:

Raskin stressed that the Jewish leaders do not want to be confrontational, and that they want to be partners in solving the problem.

FOX 5 reached out to MCPS officials for comment. They acknowledged receipt of the inquiry, but otherwise, did not immediately provide a response.

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