Jewish families sue California over violent antisemitism in public schools

Jewish families are suing the state of California, accusing it of ignoring or even encouraging countless instances of antisemitic violence in its public schools.

A coalition of Jewish parents partnered with the Brandeis Center, a civil rights group, to demand justice for the discrimination and violence Jewish children have faced at school.

“The California education system is teaching the state’s children that Jewish Americans and Israelis are racists, white supremacists, oppressors, and baby-killers who should be shunned,” said Kenneth Marcus, chairman of the Brandeis Center and a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education.

“The result is not surprising: Jewish children and children perceived as Jewish are bullied and excluded by their peers and harassed by their teachers, who silence, mock, and even segregate them if they speak out.“

School officials have done little or nothing at all to help these children. It is the state’s legal responsibility to defend and protect innocent children from discrimination and bigotry, not foster hate as California has been doing.”

The lawsuit, filed Feb. 26, cites multiple instances from multiple school districts in which Jewish students were harassed by teachers or other students. In one case, a schoolteacher promoted a pro-Palestine walkout including the chant, “F*** the Jews.”

At another school, a group of bullies attacked a Jewish student saying, “Let’s get the Jew,” and then beat him unconscious.

One 9-year-old girl was preparing to sing a song by an Israeli songwriter in a talent show when she was told, “Israel is a racist apartheid state, and by supporting Israel, you are being racist.” She was then told she couldn’t bring her poster with an image of the Israeli flag on stage.

Meanwhile, a middle-school Jewish girl was choked by another student, who told her to “shut your stupid Jewish a** up.” The victim was severely traumatized by the incident, and now suffers from anxiety, nightmares and insomnia.

But the perpetrators rarely face punishment from school leadership. When Jewish parents voice their concerns, they are also dismissed or insulted. One Jewish mother was even called a “Zionist Nazi b****” when speaking to her local school board.

The lawsuit argues the defendants – including the California Department of Education, state school board and state superintendent – are willfully ignoring the violence and harassment taking place in public schools.“

Defendants have systematically ignored the claims made by Jewish and Israeli parents,” the lawsuit argues, “ignored the actions that parents are forced to take on their own to bring attention to the discrimination their children face, ignored the biased and discriminatory classroom materials they viewed to eliminate, [and] ignored the widely circulated media reports about anti-Semitism.”

The lawsuit also blames teachers’ unions for fomenting a culture of hateful antisemitism. In fact, Jewish public school teachers have already filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles school district and local union for its alleged antisemitism.

Plaintiffs allege the education department is violating the Equal Protections clause and the Free Exercise clause of the California Constitution.

“I chose to be a part of this lawsuit because I am afraid for the future my children will face after generations are allowed to be indoctrinated with antisemitism and anti-Americanism in our classrooms,” said one plaintiff parent.

Another father explained the hostility from fellow students often stemmed from a teacher’s open antisemitism.

“Our child felt unsafe expressing their Jewish identity in the public school after an adult teacher was permitted to display anti‑Jewish, anti‑Israel, and anti‑American materials in the classroom,” the father said. “When the teacher set that tone, it signaled to students that hostility toward Jewish identity was acceptable – and that is exactly what happened as other students joined in.”