An “equality and justice” conference involving several of the country’s most prestigious private schools turned into a “festival of Jew hate,” leaving frightened students crying, according to angry parents and attendees.
Speakers at the National Association of Independent Schools’ annual People of Color conference last week accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide” and downplayed the October 7 Hamas attacks, which killed 1,200 Israeli civilians — leading to some Frightened children were prompted to hide their Jewish stars. They left early.
“There was an overwhelming feeling that we were not welcomed,” a Jewish senior at Milken Community School in Los Angeles told The Post.
“We felt small and insignificant,” said the student, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
NAIS – an organization of 1,300 independent schools including Manhattan’s Tony dalton, brearley, scientific, trinity, fieldston, and this Riverdale Country School – Hosted a professional development and networking event in Colorado Dec. 4-7 in conjunction with its Student Diversity Leadership Conference. About 8,000 students and adults participated.
New York prep schools attended included Brooklyn Friends School, Dalton, and Horace Mann. A full list of attendees was not immediately available.
NYC parents became angry because they had been assured that Jewish students would be welcome, but they called the conference a “hate fest” inspired by the “woke” NAIS.
“Bringing back to school is all preaching to them,” said one mom at an NYC private school, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“There is no transparency. I don’t know if any of my daughter’s teachers were there or not… I want to know that the teachers and students who went will now be uneducated.
The other day, Dr. Suzanne Barakat, a physician and activist, claimed Israel was “founded on ethnocentric superiority and an inherently systemic racist framework,” according to transcripts obtained by The Post.
The Middle East conflict, he said, arose from the “strain” of Zionism that arose after Jews fled nationalism in Europe in the 1800s. Critics said he equated support for the Jewish state with a disease.
“They started immigrating to Palestine as colonists,” Barakat said, calling it “ethnic cleansing.”
Barakat cited the far-left group Jewish Voice for Peace and recommended a book Controversial author Ta-Nehisi CoatesWho once said he didn’t know if he would have been “so strong” Do not participate in the October 7 massacre,
“To suggest that Israel is committing genocide, that this current conflict is the most documented genocide in modern history – which smacks of Holocaust denial – was like being punched in the gut,” said teacher and diversity and inclusion coordinator Sirida Graham Turk. Said. Milken participated.
“There was no mention of the indigeneity of the Jewish people,” he said. “The only mention of Hamas was that they led the ‘unprecedented attack’.”
In an email to school leaders the day after the speech, NAIS President Debra Wilson said Barakat’s comments about the war were “unexpected and unexpected.”
Wilson said, “While some attendees shared the speaker’s perspective and felt both seen and heard, others were deeply hurt and angry.”
Critics said the apology was also insulting.
Sarah Shulkind, Milken’s head of school, said, “Nobody could even bring themselves to say the words ‘anti-Semitism’ in the confessional.”
“What is most frightening is that the thousands of teachers present in that room teach in the most prestigious schools of the country. , , They were standing and cheering,” Shulkind said. “That tells me two things: poisonous, unapologetic Jew hatred, and profound ignorance.”
Despite the apology the rhetoric continued.
On the last day of the conference, Princeton professor Ruha Benjamin addressed students and faculty wearing Palestinian colors and earrings displaying watermelons, symbols of Palestinian solidarity.
Benjamin has vocally supported the anti-Israel BDS movement – leading a protest that reportedly ended Arrest of many of his students – and was under investigation For his activism at Princeton.
At the end of his speech, he began presenting “before the genocide” and Israeli “oppression” on Gaza.
Another student of Milken’s said, “It immediately disturbed me, that he used such accusatory words and presented them as fact in front of a crowd of thousands of people.”
She added, “As I started to walk out, I noticed people were looking at my Star of David necklace.” “I really don’t feel safe anymore at a conference built for inclusion. I ran out of the conference room as quickly as I could and immediately noticed that almost all the other Jewish students did the same.
jewish leader sent a letter NAIS was called on Wednesday to apologize and ensure speaker selection processes prevent “toxic rhetoric.”
In reaction to themWilson said all future presentations will be required to be submitted in full in advance and to serve as a resource to groups accepting them on their proposal, especially before a conference in February.
Barakat and Benjamin did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Post.
(TagstoTranslate)US News(T)Semitism(T)DEI(T)Diversity(T)Education(T)Private Schools
