A Jewish teacher at a Brooklyn high school accused of unruly students’ swastikas, death threats, Nazi salutes and Hitler-loving comments was expelled from the school building this week. It comes as Prime Minister David Banks expressed concern about a student posing as a German tyrant. .
Superintendent Michael Player is back on the job just two days after world history teacher Daniel Kaminsky exposed the hateful incident at the Sheepshead Bay school on the front page of The Post. , the educator said, made the decision to transfer him from Origins High School.
“The superintendent doesn’t want me in this district,” Kaminsky said.
“Teachers will only be transferred upon request,” said Nathaniel Steyer, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Education.
At a news conference Thursday, Banks expressed sympathy for the teenager who sported a mustache, knocked on classroom doors and gave a Hitler salute, according to reports and surveillance footage.
“There was one student who was very distressed by that. His photo was published in the newspaper,” Banks said, referring to the blurry photo of the anonymous young man. “I don’t want to go into details because of privacy concerns, but he needed a lot of support.”
Kaminsky’s move follows that of campus manager Michael Beaudry, who also spoke out about the anti-Semitism, anti-LGBTQ hate, bigotry and lax student discipline he witnessed at Origins. raised.
“They are trying to silence us,” Kaminski told the Post. “I live in constant fear of telling the truth.”
Kaminski, 33, returned to the classroom on Monday, a week after The Post exposed teacher complaints of harassment by a group of students who had bullied Jewish teachers and classmates, especially since the Israel-Hamas war. Ta.
In an earlier incident, a Jewish teacher said a 10th grade student was told “I wish you had been killed” during a class about the Holocaust. Another boy called her a “dirty Jew” and told Hitler he “wants more Jews to be beaten.”
On Monday, when Mr. Kaminsky handed the teen her graded homework, he looked at her and said, “Hitler really died, and you’re still here,” she said. reported to school officials.
Administrators grilled her about the incident and searched for students who may have heard the offensive comments.
“They didn’t believe me,” she said. “I was constantly monitored. They walked me to the bathroom. I wasn’t allowed to talk to other teachers. I had to stay in the classroom.”
Most students were “unwelcome,” Kaminski said, making statements like “I can’t believe you actually went to the media.”
However, some of the children were supportive, telling Kaminski, “They believe in me and my experience.”
Mr. Player, who oversees 27 high schools in southern Brooklyn, and Deputy Superintendent John Banks, a former principal at Origins, visited the school on Monday but did not contact Ms. Kaminsky to inquire about her welfare. There wasn’t, she said.
Mr. Pryor and Mr. Banks did not respond to requests for comment.
On Tuesday, Kaminsky reported finding a chalkboard in her classroom that read “Free Perstan.” This is a misspelling of Palestine twice.
Administrators dismissed it as “graffiti,” she said.
That day, Charles Di Benedetto, the Brooklyn high school’s UFT representative, gave her a list of three schools in Queens that were hiring social studies teachers.
Kaminski has chosen one, but he’s still nervous about the move.
“I’m a target no matter where I go. I don’t feel safe anywhere in the DOE right now,” she said.
“She has accepted a position at Queen’s High School, and we will continue to support her during this transition period,” Di Benedetto said.
On Thursday, Banks downplayed the Origins turmoil, calling the coverage “completely disproportionate.”
“At Origins, we had a teacher who heard several anti-Semitic comments from a small number of children. That’s not true. We don’t want our teachers or staff to hear any bias.” First Vice President Daniel Weisberg said.
Weisberg said assistant principal Dara Kammerman did not mishandle the situation. “The principal has confirmed that there will be consequences for students who do indeed deviate from the rules and demonstrate bias.”
