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A federal complaint filed Oct. 15 accuses Maryland’s largest school district of failing to adequately address antisemitic harassment of an Orthodox student, who received an anonymous bomb threat at home on April 18.
The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law submitted the allegations to the U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights office on behalf of its Coalition to Combat Antisemitism. The filing cites Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
The student, whose name is withheld, graduated from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring in June. He wore a kippah and visible tzitzit. He had transferred from another school in the district following antisemitic harassment.
At Northwood High School in Rockville, coins were allegedly thrown at him and he was told, “Pick it up, Jew.”
The complaint alleges he was home with his siblings when the caller said, “You f***ing Zionist, you f***ing Jew, I am going to bomb you.” Fireworks allegedly erupted outside immediately afterward.
Days later, he faced accusations of “genocide” after posting that he planned to study in Israel before attending Yeshiva University. Rumors spread that he would join the Israeli military, though the complaint says he planned to attend a yeshiva.
The genocide charge, aimed at a young man over his plans to study in Israel, revives the centuries-old blood libel, which falsely accused Jews of murdering Christian children for ritual purposes.
On May 11, students allegedly pressured his friend to disavow the friendship. He recalled classmates telling the friend, “Don’t talk to him. He is a Zionist.”
Administrators arranged safety measures and graduation security, but the complaint says those steps were insufficient for him to participate fully, and he reduced his attendance.
Montgomery County is home to about 45% of Maryland’s Jewish community, and its school system, the largest in the state, serves more than 150,000 students in more than 200 institutions.
The Brandeis Center is seeking an investigation, an independent monitor for at least five years, and incorporation of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism in district policies and training.
Kenneth Marcus, chairman and CEO of the Brandeis Center and a former assistant U.S. secretary of education for civil rights, said, “School administrators have no justification for failing to respond effectively to antisemitic harassment under their watch.”
Take Action
CAM has launched Report It, a secure app to report antisemitic incidents anonymously and in real time. Don’t stay silent. Download it today on the Apple App Store or Google Play. See it. Report it. Stop it.
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