Controversial School District Suspends Student for Allegedly Reporting, Leaking Classmate's Swastika Flag to Public: Report
A new commandment came down recently from one school in Virginia’s Fairfax County School District: Thou shalt not tell the world about anti-Israel bias.
Fairfax County schools have been a battleground where parents drew the line and fought back on a number of issues, from transgender policies to pornography masquerading as literature in school libraries.
The societal chasm that emerged after Hamas slaughtered Israeli civilians, prompting Israel to unleash retribution upon Gaza, has touched the schools as well, with students at Langley High School staging a walkout Friday to support the Palestinian cause, according to the Fairfax Times.
As the school countenanced students proclaiming the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a PG-equivalent to directly calling for the annihilation of Israel, one student found himself in trouble for showing what went on behind closed school doors.
🚨@FairfaxTimes. @FCPSNews suspended a @LangleyHS student who drew a swastika flag as part of anti-Israel protests AND get this: ALSO SUSPENDED an Asian American teen who allegedly blew the whistle on the anti-Jew hate. Jewish parents plan protest Friday.https://t.co/aQ4epVz6SV
— Asra Nomani (@AsraNomani) November 16, 2023
The Times reported that while the Muslim Students Association met, one student drew an American flag, replacing the stars with swastikas. He added the slogan “Free Palestine!”
The only reason the world knows about this is that an Asian-American student leaked a photo of the student, proudly showing his creation. But the school was not pleased when rampant anti-Semitism was on display.
The student who leaked the photo has been suspended, along with the student who drew the swastika.
Rebecca Schgallis, cofounder of the group United Against Antisemitism, said the incident is par for the course at the district.
“Fairfax County Public Schools has emboldened students to become even more aggressive in their open anti-Semitism where they explicitly express support for Hamas and include swastikas in their signage. Jewish students have been threatened at these walkouts, and yet FCPS is falsely claiming to the community that they are peaceful and orderly. When Jewish students and their allies protest against anti-Semitism, they have their own right to free speech and rights outlined in the Student Rights and Responsibilities violated,” she said.
The Times said two other incidents at Fairfax County schools show which side the district is on. In one, students proclaimed, “Long live Hamas!” publicly with no reprimand. In another, Muslim students intimidated a pro-Israel student from staging a small counter-protest.
That student, Woodson High School senior Yakov Schwartz, 18, said Fairfax County Public Schools doesn’t truly care about making schools safe for every student.”
“The student who drew the swastika flag not only threatened Jewish students, but he also defaced the flag of his country. It’s a disgrace to our flag, our country, and its people,” Schwartz said.
In response to the swastika flag, Superintendent Michelle Reid issued a statement saying, “FCPS will continue to support our students’ right to free speech. At the same time, we will not tolerate anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, or racism, as we continue to condemn hate and violence in any form. Our schools must be safe and welcoming spaces to learn for every student in our diverse and global community.”
But to the group Parents Defending Education, it does not look that way.
The group recently accessed emails showing school board member Laura Jane Cohen praising an unidentified Muslim teacher who said Israel was “aggressively and indiscriminately bomb[ing] Gaza and terroriz[ing] other occupied Palestinian territories,” according to the Washington Examiner
“The School Board was quick to speak up when Israeli lives were lost, but is silent to the ongoing loss of Palestinian lives,” the unnamed teacher said. “You might think that your silence is balanced, neutral, and measured. However, the Muslim community, the Palestinian community, and countless interfaith communities against the Palestinian apartheid see your silence as a conscious choice to side with the oppressor.”
Cohen told the teacher: “I appreciate your advocacy on behalf of the atrocities against Palestinians.”
In October, students at Justice County High School in Falls Church staged a walkout in support of Palestine, according to WRC-TV.
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