Congress grills liberal cities’ school districts over antisemitism

New York City Public Schools Chancellor David Banks testifies on Capitol Hill.

David Banks, the chancellor of New York City Public Schools, urged Congress to take steps to “bring us together” to find solutions to fight hate beyond just holding hearings.

Banks said society must teach young people and expose them to Jewish communities so that they “understand our commonality.”

Although the hearing was focused on antisemitism, Banks stressed that hate exists in many forms, including against Blacks, Asian-Americans and LGBTQ communities.

Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, the ranking Democratic member of the subcommittee, noted that all the school officials called to testify at the hearing are from “blue states.” Bonamici said she would introduce into the record articles that discuss antisemitism elsewhere, including in Florida, Texas and Alabama.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) questions witnesses during a House Education and Workforce subcommittee hearing on antisemitism in K-12 education on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik tussled with David Banks, chancellor of the New York City Public Schools, after learning that a principal was disciplined – but not fired – after alleged incidents of antisemitism took place at his school.

Stefanik, citing local media reports, said the principal of Hillcrest High School in Queens was given a senior position, working on a team led by the school district’s deputy chancellor.

Banks said he could not confirm the former principal’s current role, but he acknowledged the principal was removed from his job but reassigned elsewhere in the district.

Stefanik also grilled Banks on allegations that students marched in the hallway of Origins High School in Brooklyn chanting “death to Jews.” Banks said an investigation showed no evidence that was chanted in the halls, although he noted what the probe revealed was “deeply troubling,” and a number of students at the school were suspended.

Banks said he couldn’t provide details of what happened at Origins, because the incident was under litigation.

He also noted a principal at another school was disciplined after assigning a teacher to go with a student to an anti-Israel protest. Banks called that action “completely inappropriate” and said both the principal and teacher were disciplined, but not fired.

Republican Rep. Brandon Williams slammed New York City Public Schools Chancellor David Banks for not firing the principal of a Queens high school where students allegedly targeted a Jewish teacher.

“How can Jewish students feel safe at New York City Public Schools when you can’t even manage to terminate the principal of Open-Season-on-Jews High School?” Williams asked Banks during a fiery exchange. “How can Jewish students go to school knowing that he is still on your payroll? Your payroll, sir!”

Banks previously confirmed that the principal of Hillcrest High School was removed after a Jewish teacher was targeted in what he described as a “frightening episode.”

“I know whose payroll it is, sir. And it’s not Open-Season-on-Jews school. It’s called Hillcrest High School. That’s the name of the school,” said Banks, who graduated from the Queens high school. “We considered his leadership not strong enough to be the leader in that school.”

When asked why the principal is still employed by the city, Banks explained that every employee has due process rights and stressed everything is done to make sure teachers and students are safe.

“We don’t always get it right,” Banks said. “Part of the reason it happened at Hillcrest High School is what I considered a lack of proper supervision in that school. That’s why the principal was removed from the school.”

Facing questions about the Berkeley, California, curriculum on antisemitism and the Israel-Palestine conflict, Berkeley Unified School District superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel, testified that she thought in certain contexts, such as a call for genocide, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” can be antisemitic. But Morthel also said it was appropriate to teach Berkeley students that some believe the phrase is a call for peace.

In a new curriculum on the Middle East conflict, literature taught to students says, “For some Palestinians, ‘from the river to the sea’ is a call for freedom and peace.”

When asked if that was appropriate, Morthel said, “We definitely believe it’s important to expose our students to a diversity of ideas and perspectives, and if it was presented as a perspective, I do think it’s appropriate.”

Some Pro-Palestinian advocates say the phrase is a call for justice and an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. But the Anti-Defamation League and many supporters of Israel say the phrase is an antisemitic slogan because it calls for the destruction of Israel and the removal of Jews from the country.

David Banks, chancellor of the New York City Public Schools, condemned an incident from last fall at a Queens high school where a pro-Israel teacher reportedly hid for hours from hundreds of protesting students.

“I condemn clearly: What happened at Hillcrest was a complete act of antisemitism. It will not stand on my watch,” Banks said. “We responded. And I don’t know how to make it any clearer.”

Banks, who noted he graduated from Hillcrest High School, said the principal of the school was removed and has not been transferred to lead another school.

Under questioning from lawmakers, Banks said he stands by his statement that the entire school was not “radicalized.”

“But the kids who were responsible…engaged clearly in an act of antisemitism. And I dealt with it,” he said, noting that “we suspended students, we removed the principal from the school.”

“A Jewish teacher was targeted in a frightening episode. We didn’t accept that. We pushed back on that tremendously,” he said.

Enikia Ford Morthel, superintendent of the Berkeley Unified School District in California, testifies on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

Enikia Ford Morthel, superintendent of the Berkeley Unified School District in California, acknowledged there have been allegations of antisemitism in her district but denied that the problem is widespread. 

“Our babies sometimes say harmful things. We are mindful that all kids make mistakes,” Ford Morthel said, referring to students. “We know that our staff are not immune to mistakes either. And we don’t ignore them when they occur.”

Since the October 7 terror attack against Israel, there have been formal complaints alleging antisemitism linked to nine incidents in the school district, Ford Morthel told lawmakers. 

“However, antisemitism is not pervasive in the Berkeley Unified School District,” she said. 

Ford Morthel noted that the district does not share actions the school district takes against students or teachers because this information is protected under federal and state law.

“As a result, some believe we do nothing. That is not true,” she said.

New York City Public Schools Chancellor David Banks arrives to testify before a House Education and Workforce subcommittee on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

David Banks, the chancellor of New York City Public Schools, said his district has removed, disciplined or is in the process of disciplining at least a dozen staff and school leaders over alleged antisemitism.

“Keeping schools safe is in my DNA. When antisemitism rears its head, I believe we must respond. And we have,” Banks said during his opening remarks.

Banks said the discipline against faculty includes removing a principal in the middle of the school year. He added that New York City Public Schools has suspended at least 30 students, called in the New York City Police Department when necessary and retrained all 1,600 principals on the discipline code.

Banks added that suspending students and faculty alone won’t solve the problem, stressing that engagement with the community and teaching are crucial.

“The true antidote is to teach,” he said.

Democratic Rep. Suzanne Bonamici called out her Republican colleagues for condemning alleged antisemitism at schools but failing to stand up to former President Donald Trump.

Bonamici cited Trump’s description of “fine people” on both sides following the 2017 White nationalist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, as well as his decision to host Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago.

Trump has defended his 2017 comments about “fine people” by saying he was referring to supporters of the Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

During the hearing, Bonamici gave Republicans an opportunity to speak up.

“Does anyone have the courage to stand up against this?” she said before pausing. “Let the record show that no one spoke up at this time.”

Republican Rep. Aaron Bean condemned antisemitism at schools as “anti-American” and called for education leaders to stand against hate.

“The very need for this hearing is a travesty,” Bean, the chairman of the Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee, said during his opening statement at Wednesday’s hearing.

Bean described numerous allegations of antisemitic incidents at schools in recent months.

Wednesday’s hearing will come a day after the US Department of Education said in a letter reviewed by CNN that it is investigating Berkeley Unified School District for allegations of discrimination based on a shared Jewish ancestry or being Israeli.

A copy of the letter, sent to the Anti-Defamation League and the Brandeis Center, says the department’s Office for Civil Rights will investigate whether the district complied with Title VI requirements to prevent discrimination and harassment. The department is also investigating whether the Berkeley district retaliated against two parents who complained about harassment based on Jewish ancestry.

CNN has reached out to the school district for a comment. The Education Department referred questions to a list of schools currently under investigation for shared ancestry claims. However, that list does not currently include the Berkeley school district.

The complaint filed by the Brandeis Center details dozens of incidents at Berkeley, including students allegedly shouting: “kill the Jews,” and “F— the Jews” as well as “KKK.”

Enikia Ford Morthel, the superintendent of the Berkely Unified School District, is among the three school officials scheduled to testify on Wednesday.