Jewish educators are expressing outrage over a Palestinian flag prominently displayed in the hallways of Leader High School in Brooklyn, a situation that has seemingly fallen on deaf ears among education authorities.
This banner has been a fixture at the Gravesend school, located within the Lafayette Educational Facility, since at least April, according to Moshe Spern, who heads the 250-member United Jewish Teachers Group.
It remains unclear who put up the flag or the rationale behind it.
Spern argues that the display violates the Ministry of Education’s guidelines, which restrict political activities on school property. He reached out to Principal Thomas Mullen on Tuesday, noting that complaints from the Lafayette School community about the flag have been ongoing since the previous school year.
“Initially, I thought it was related to Heritage Month, and I wanted to give the benefit of the doubt,” Spern mentioned in his email.
“However, the continued presence of the flag now feels like a deliberate political message,” he stated.
He emphasized the unease felt by Jewish students, parents, and staff about the flag’s persistent display. “I hope that it will be taken down soon, as neutrality in the Middle East conflict is an important message for our schools,” he added.
After receiving no response, Spern followed up with another email on Friday, urging that the flag be removed. He expressed concern that the flag “clearly conveys a political stance and makes many Jewish community members uncomfortable.”
Spern mentioned that, as of now, he still hasn’t heard back.
“For five months, this flag has made its presence known in our school, and the implications it carries for both staff and students cannot be overlooked,” he remarked.
“We alerted school and district leadership about the clear breach of political neutrality rules, yet they chose to disregard our concerns. That’s just not acceptable,” he continued.
“They had a chance to address this before the new school year began,” he said.
Spern is considering reaching out to the United Federation of Teachers to remind school leaders that all community members deserve to feel safe and supported in their school environment.
Mullen did not provide any comments, and the Department of Education has yet to respond to inquiries.
