Berkeley Unified accused of failing to protect students against antisemitism

BERKELEY — A federal complaint was filed against the Berkeley Unified School District on Wednesday, alleging the district failed to protect students and hold teachers accountable as antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric was spread across district campuses.

The complaint was filed on behalf of Jewish and Israeli students and parents by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, a firm fighting for Jewish civil rights, and the Anti-Defamation League, a national organization combating antisemitism.

The 41-page complaint, filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, alleges Jewish and Israeli students have been subjected to an onslaught of antisemitic and anti-Israeli hate since shortly after an attack on Israeli settlers was led by Hamas on Oct. 7.

Educators from across the district were accused of “indoctrinating” students by showing them “pro-Hamas” videos, antisemitic and anti-Israeli imagery and asking young students to write messages against hate on sticky notes including one that read “stop bombing babies.” One of the images showed a fist punching through a Star of David while holding a Palestinian flag.

The lawsuit claims the messaging has emboldened students to harass Jewish and Israeli students. According to the complaint, students at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School were encouraged by faculty to participate in an Oct. 18 walkout in support of Palestinians and were heard shouting “F— the Jews,” “Kill the Jews,” “KKK,” “Kill Israel,” “I hate those people,” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a phrase some say advocates for the elimination of Israel, while others argue is a call for Palestinian liberation.

District staff are also accused of flouting district policy by excusing absences after allowing students to walk out of class for unauthorized protests. According to the district website, student absences are only excused if the student is ill or if there’s a death in the immediate family. District leadership is also accused of permitting educators to push their “historical, religious, political, economic, or social bias” on students in violation of the district’s “Controversial Issues” policy.

“The eruption of anti-Semitism in Berkeley’s elementary and high schools is like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” Kenneth L. Marcus, chairman of the Brandeis Center and the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education for the George W. Bush and Donald Trump administrations, said in a press release Wednesday. “It is dangerous enough to see faculty fanning the flames of anti-Semitism on college campuses, but to see teachers inciting hate in the youngest of grades while Berkeley administrators sit idly by as it continues to escalate by the day is reprehensible.”

Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel said in an email statement that the district “stands against all forms of hate,” a message she said gets widely and frequently shared in classrooms. Ford Morthel said the district has not yet received official notification of the lawsuit but plans to fully cooperate with the Office of Civil Rights’ investigation.

Students and parents are also encouraged to report instances of bullying and harassment, which Ford Morthel said will be investigated “vigorously,” adding that a focused conversation was recently had regarding concerns of antisemitism on campus. Further details on who was in that conversation were not provided.

“We believe that classrooms must be places of joy, empathy, curiosity, love and rigor where all students feel safe, seen, heard, and valued. We work to make these spaces responsive and humanizing for our diverse students,” Ford Morthel said. “We remain committed to engaging with our community to ensure that BUSD is a district that lives up to its values of excellence, engagement, equity, and enrichment.”

The complaint, however, accuses the district of failing to adequately investigate reports of harassment and bullying. One parent filed three separate complaints in November and December on behalf of their child who said there was an antisemitic climate in the student’s Berkeley High School art class, according to the suit.

Rather than addressing issues in classes, the complaint also alleges students were removed from their classrooms, disrupting their school schedules while educators were permitted to continue teaching what the organizations argue are antisemitic viewpoints.

The Berkeley Federation of Teachers, the union representing educators in the district, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The district also did not respond to questions about how many complaints of antisemitism have been filed since October.