Dozens of parents, students, educators and community members voiced their concerns about the Branham High School “human swastika” incident that went viral last week and expressed solidarity with the Jewish community at a Thursday night meeting of the Campbell Union High School District board.
The fervor was in response to a social media post featuring a photo of eight students lying in the shape of a swastika on the football field, with a caption quoting Hitler about the “annihilation of the Jewish race.” In the week since J. first reported the story, the incident has received national and international attention.
During more than 90 minutes of recorded public comment viewed by J., many speakers shared personal histories, trauma and past experiences with antisemitism both outside and within the district, expressing deep hurt, fear and disappointment.
“I came here as a kid from the Soviet Union, where I was bullied and I personally got beat up in school for being Jewish,” said Max, a Branham parent. “This was a very triggering event and all the trauma came rushing back. I [didn’t] want my child to experience this, and now he has.”
Others came to express support for the Jewish community.
“What happened here was hateful and it’s unacceptable, full stop,” said Dina, a Palestinian Branham parent who has family in the West Bank and Gaza. “I’m here tonight to stand in solidarity with our Jewish friends, neighbors, students, faculty and community members, because hate toward any group is never OK. We’re with you.”
Other speakers urged the district to conduct a full investigation and impose meaningful consequences, with one parent calling for the expulsion of the involved students. But many others emphasized the need for restorative justice, a process that focuses on repairing harm by bringing together those affected to decide collectively how to make things right.
Dina was one of several parents who urged the board to “commit to ongoing education, not a one-time assembly, not a single email.”
“We need a real, continuous program that teaches students about bias, identity, history and how to recognize and stop hate in all its forms. Our kids deserve better, and our community deserves better,” she said. “This time, our Jewish community was targeted in the most awful way. If we don’t address this now with a holistic, comprehensive approach, we leave the door open for it to happen again.”
Across the comments, there were consistent calls for comprehensive education on antisemitism, Holocaust history, hate speech and bias. Suggestions included mandatory Holocaust education, observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, ongoing anti-hate programming and counseling support for impacted students.
Many speakers called for a long-term, district-wide approach that addresses all forms of hate — antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism, bigotry, homophobia and xenophobia — emphasizing that harms to one group are a potential threat to all.
A number of commenters expressed concerns about the district potentially partnering with Zionist groups, naming the Anti-Defamation League, Bay Area Jewish Coalition and Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area. They said these organizations could introduce political bias and conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
Some advocated for educational tools grounded in “collective liberation,” mentioning resources offered by the Participatory Action Research Center for Education Organizing (PARCEO), which facilitates trainings and workshops including an alternative curriculum “challenging antisemitism” that “evaluates antisemitism within the historical context of the Jewish experience and examines how antisemitism has been misused to further other discriminatory rhetoric.”
“We would gently suggest the board be very careful as they’re considering who is to offer training, who is to offer anti-bias or antisemitism training, to be sure that it is done within the model of collective liberation,” said a representative of the Campbell Coalition, an ethnically diverse and interfaith community of Campbell parents in the district. “We know that all of our freedom and safety depends on one another. We know no person is free and safe until all of us are free and safe.”
Jewish, Palestinian, Muslim, Christian and other community members repeatedly voiced solidarity with one another and urged the district to model cross-community cooperation. Many emphasized that healing requires transparency, inclusive dialogue and a commitment to ensuring safety, dignity and belonging for every student.
Several speakers thanked Principal Beth Silbergeld, district leaders and student speakers for their leadership and courage. Others asked the district to communicate more clearly and promptly with families about such incidents.
The San Jose Police Department told J. on Dec. 9 that it is investigating the incident, and the school district issued a statement the same day saying the students involved would face consequences. During the board meeting, District Superintendent Robert Bravo reiterated that the CUHSD would “respond firmly, thoughtfully, and within the full scope allowed by Board Policy and California law.”