Schools Chancellor David Banks was defiant as he was grilled by Congress Wednesday over his response to antisemitism in New York City classrooms — insisting that the egregious incidents have been dealt with “in an appropriate fashion.”
Tensions flared as Banks was slammed for his decision to reassign — not fire — the principal of a Queens school where students rioted in November against a Jewish teacher who had attended a pro-Israel rally.
“How can Jewish students feel safe in New York City public schools when you can’t even manage to terminate the principal of ‘open season on Jews High School?’” said Rep. Brandon Williams (R-NY), referring to former Hillcrest High School principal Scott Milczewski.
“It’s not ‘open season on Jews High School’ it’s called Hillcrest High School,” Banks snapped back, adding, “and we considered his leadership to not be strong enough in that school.”
“Is he strong enough to be on your payroll?” Williams prodded as Banks defended his decision to keep Milczewski on city Department of Education staff.
House Republican conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) also quizzed Banks on Hillcrest, noting it was “very concerning” that Milczewski had been moved into the senior position of director of instruction when his leadership had been called into question.
“We have some teachers who have had some of these challenges, but we’ve had members of Congress who have made antisemitic statements, and I certainly would not cast aspersions on this entire institution,” Banks fired back.
“Similarly, I would stand in defense of New York City educators as well.”
In addition to the student rampage at Hillcrest — which sent the Jewish teacher cowering in a locked office for hours — the Big Apple public school system has also been rocked by a citywide student walkout calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and allegations of heinous antisemitism at Brooklyn’s Origins High School, among other incidents.
Banks was on the offensive as he addressed the panel of 14 lawmakers, slapping down assertions that the DOE had “done nothing” to address the scourge of hate gripping the city.
“I can’t state that I can prevent every incident, from ever happening, but … once it is brought to our attention … we respond in an appropriate fashion,” he said.
Banks acknowledged that “antisemitism is the number one religious-based hate crime in America” but fell short of admitting its stronghold on Big Apple schools.
“All forms of hate have no place in our public schools. And New York City public schools have been aggressive in fighting hate wherever it has reared its ugly head,” he said.
Students, parents, educators and advocates for Jewish rights poured into the nation’s capitol to witness Banks and officials from Maryland’s Montgomery County and Berkeley, California face fierce questioning from the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
All three institutions are liberal-leaning districts with large Jewish populations that have faced alleged antisemitic incidents since Oct 7 — when Hamas launched a vicious attack on Israel.
They all condemned the phrase “From the river, to the sea” as antisemitic” — the strongest response heard by the subcommittee to date.
Reps. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) and Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) joined Stefanik and Williams in quizzing Banks about his handling of Hillcrest and Milczewski.
“There are egregious crimes that have been committed under your watch,” Williams told Banks. “I want you to speak directly to the parents of Jewish students in New York City, how should they reassure their children that this antisemitic nightmare in your schools has come to an end?”
Banks claimed he speaks to Jewish parents everyday and that Hillcrest was an example of a lack of “proper supervision” and Milczewski was promptly moved to a different post, noting that there is “due process.”
Critics called Banks’ testimony dishonest with Councilwoman Inna Vernikov saying that his comments “make it seem as though NYC has somehow got a handle on antisemitism.”
“He wasn’t transparent. He danced around direct questions and couldn’t say what disciplinary action was taken against antisemitic students and teachers,” she said.
“As the hearing was going on, I got word that there was antisemitic graffiti at a public school in my district. The situation is obviously getting worse, not better.”
Others applauded Banks’ condemnation of antisemitism but agreed that he’d been “disingenuous” in his responses regarding accountability.
“He led the committee to believe he fired the Hillcrest HS principal when in fact principal Milczewski was promoted,” Maud Maron, a Manhattan mom and member of the Community Education Council District 2.
Since the eruption of the Middle East war, Banks said there had been 281 incidents of hate crimes in NYC — 42% of those being antisemitic but reassured panel members that action is being taken.
“We have removed, disciplined, or are in the process of disciplining at least a dozen staff and school leaders,” he said.
“We have suspended at least 30 students, we’ve involved the NYPD when hate crimes are committed, and we’ve retrain all 1,600 principals on our discipline code to ensure that it is enforced properly.
“Secondly, we’ve engaged dozens of partners to help us design longer term solutions.”
He went as far as to use the removal of a map from a NYC classroom that depicted the “Arab World” in which Israel had been left off as an example of his administration taking action — but claimed it had been an isolated incident and a failure of the programs teacher.
Banks noted that upon its discovery it was immediately removed — despite it taking widespread media coverage before being taken down — with at least one staffer at the time, appearing perplexed when asked whether it had been taken down.
In the lead up to the panel Banks emphasized that the DOE has assembled an interfaith council and developed curricula on Jewish and Muslim history and crowed of the launch of a Holocaust teaching guide created in partnership with the Museum of Jewish Heritage.
They’re also expanding their “Hidden Voices” series — which highlights the voices of people forgotten in the history books — to include Jewish and Muslim people.
And will hold training sessions for middle and high school leaders on how to navigate “difficult conversations.”
