A series of recent anti-Semitic incidents at Carlmont High School in Belmont has shaken the Jewish community on the Peninsula and prompted a meeting with school officials, according to people familiar with the matter.
Numerous instances of anti-Semitic graffiti have been discovered on and around school property, several parents told J. A school sidewalk was scrawled with the words “toasted Jew” in chalk alongside a Star of David.
Alarmed, about 20 parents met with Carlmont Principal Ralph Crame on March 15. One of the parents reported that on her way to the meeting, she heard a group of students yell at her daughter, “Here’s a Jew, let’s burn her.”
The Belmont Police Department did not return telephone messages seeking comment.
Carlmont student Sarah Selman expressed concern that social tension following the election of Donald Trump, has taken root in her high school.
While anti-Semitic acts have occurred in the past, Selman said, bullying is something new.
“I’ve also seen some anti-Semitism at Carlmont, particularly when there are conflicts in Gaza and Israel,” she said. “Whenever I hear it, it’s always in the hallways. It’s never said around teachers.”
Both the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Community Relations Council are aware of the incidents and have offered assistance to the school, but Carlmont has not taken additional action as of Thursday.
“It’s unclear after the meeting with the principal what the strategy is there,” said Sarah Fields, public affairs and civic engagement manger at the Jewish Community Relations Council.
Seth Brysk, regional director at the ADL said that anti-Semitic activity occurs at schools “a lot” and that since hate is a behavior that’s learned, it can also be unlearned. “It’s a teachable moment,” he said.
Crame said in an email message that the school “followed up very quickly” after the incidents were reported.
“We identified the students and took appropriate action,” Crame wrote. “I consulted with the District office to ensure we were in alignment with district policy, procedures, and guidelines.
An emailed statement from Sequoia Union High School District Superintendent James Lianides said the school had taken “appropriate follow-up action” in regard to specific incidents.
Carlmont also issued a statement that teachers were required to read to their students. Obtained by J., the text reminds students of the school’s policies on discrimination and says violations will be interpreted as “harassment, bullying, or hate crimes and will be dealt with accordingly under District policies and the Education Code.”
Selman said she wished the school’s administration was more transparent when communicating with the student body about the incidents. “They told us a bit about what happened,” she said. “But they didn’t mention it was anti-Semitic.”
She worries that keeping the students in the dark may lead to apathy. “If you don’t know how serious something is, you’re not going to care about why it’s happening,” Selman added.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story reported that students shouted “Kill the Jews” in the school stadium. Several sources have noted that did not occur.
I see you were scrupulous to leave out anything about the background of the students who made those antisemitic threats and comments. How many are from that group that starts with an ‘M’ and ends with an ‘m’? For that matter, how many weren’t?
If you know something, step up and prove it and use your real name. Otherwise…….
Just sayin, the journalists aren’t doing their job. They’re supposed to be digging out the truth and reporting it. Instead, they’re trying to keep us in the dark about the effect of our immigration policies.
I taught many Muslim students and I was treated with great respect by them because I understood what it meant to grow up as an oppressed religious minority. I am still in contact with some of them and their families.
Great…start more hate to combat hate. I would bet my life that the students responsible are not of the M faith but of the C faith, which you are also no doubt. Shame on you, and on them.
Heh, if you’re Jewish and you’re looking the other way at the mass immigration of Muslims, then you are, in fact, betting your life. Your children’s lives too. Read up on how it is now for Jews in France or Belgium.
This message is being backed up by the adults in these kids’ lives. They are having “meetings” instead of expulsions, adults are obviously standing by and hearing this behavior, at least enough to report it to the journalist, and the police refuse to investigate these incidents as hate crimes, which they definitely are. Where is the outrage? There is an institutional problem that goes way deep here. To me that is the real issue.
Some schools believe it is more important to pretend they don’t have problems than to address the problems sufficiently. I taught at a school where we addressed them head on and live in a city now where they do the same. The parents need to demand a responsive administration.
All this anti Semitism grew while the adl was supporting the obama agenda, not the agenda of protecting jews