Brooklyn high school students who spewed anti-Semitic, Hitler-loving hatred against their Jewish teachers and classmates are being radicalized by social media content and interference with their own families, the school says. students told the Post.
Their observations came a week after the Post exposed horrific anti-Semitism at Origin High School in Sheepshead Bay. There, students were caught on video telling their Jewish teacher, “I wish they would have killed me,” and a teenager sporting a Hitler mustache while giving a Nazi salute.
“It definitely comes from social media…it’s just a one-sided perspective,” the Origins freshman said.
Two second-graders at a charter school in the same building say racist rhetoric is rampant in the hallways and across teens’ social media feeds, with students pushing hate anonymously on burner accounts. It is said that there is
“There was a video on Instagram that went viral online. It was shot by a group of Jewish boys in a park. [another] While a group of boys were doing Nazi things. [Jewish] The kids were trying to play basketball,” one second-grader said. “That’s terrible.”
Students from their hometowns (40% Muslim, many from families of Middle Eastern descent) may also be transmitting anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiments fostered at home, classmates suggested. .
“At Origins, we’re a melting pot of kids from different backgrounds and religions, so I think a lot of these prejudices and things start in our families when we’re young. They’re like innate prejudices. It’s something,” said the 17-year-old. -A year old Muslim senior.
The city’s Department of Education has allowed anti-Semitism to persist and metastasize by not combating the “Jew-hating narrative” that teenagers are obsessed with, according to the advocacy group Ending Jew-Hate. Michel Adout, Planning and Strategy Director, said.
The Origins administration has repeatedly downplayed the seriousness of the students’ hateful acts. The newspaper reviewed at least four school incident reports, including one about a teenage boy posing as Hitler, two about harassment of a Jewish teacher, and one about children In one, he said, “I hate Jews,” and in another, he said, “I love Hitler.”
All incidents were not bias-related and were classified as low-level violations.
If classified as motivated by bias, it would be a much more serious violation, the superintendent and NYPD would be notified, and the student could be suspended. Instead, only the parents were called and given a slap on the wrist.
Days before the Post’s front-page revelations, Origins’ interim principal Dara Kammerman allowed students to speak at a rally promoting a rally at Brooklyn College to “honor the martyrs” of Palestine. He also shared a flyer for the event.
A flyer lands on the desk of Origins world history teacher Daniel Kaminsky. He is Jewish and has complained of continued torture by his student group. There was a scrawled note on the flyer that read, “Fuck Is Real.” [sic] no. ”
The incident was also not deemed bias-related, according to an internal report.
“Headmaster [at Origins] They are not acting at all according to what they should be doing,” Adut said. It’s sad and disappointing. ”
The closest mosque to the school, the Muslim American Society Sheepshead Bay Community Center, is 11 blocks away.
The center’s imam, Muhammad Abdulhaj, blamed social media for anti-Semitism among teenagers. “We don’t teach that,” he said.
“A lot of our brothers and sisters end up in the wrong places in the media and, as you know, millions of new clips and videos are being created every second,” Abdulhai told the Post.
DOE spokesman Nathaniel Stair cited a January speech by Prime Minister David Banks that emphasized the need for teachers to educate and discipline students who bring bigoted beliefs into the classroom, saying the city’s schools should not encourage hate and bigotry. He insisted that he would not tolerate it.
“Our principals listen, and the principal at Origins High School has a track record of addressing complaints head-on with both education and appropriate consequences, including suspension,” he said.
Mr. Steyer did not comment on the harassment of Jewish teachers or Hitler’s conduct, which was classified as not related to bigotry and was not subject to suspension.
An 18-year-old senior student at Professional Pathways, an alternative school located in the building, said the anti-Semitic fears of Origins students stemmed from exposure to the Free Palestine movement and protests against Israel. He said it was due to this.
“This is like another way to protest,” the student said of the hateful act. “That’s what protesters do. They riot, they start writing, they start throwing things.”
“They just love their country and they take it to extremes. It’s not that bad until it’s brought into places it shouldn’t be brought, like Nazi stuff,” he added.
