The U.S. Department of Education has opened an investigation into the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) following a complaint that the district has failed to address “severe and persistent” bullying and harassment of Jewish students. the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The department’s Office for Civil Rights announced the formal investigation on Tuesday, ahead of an appearance by BUSD Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel on Wednesday before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce during a hearing on anti-Semitism in K-12 education.
The complaint, filed by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and the Anti-Defamation League, alleges that BUSD not only failed to address rising incidents of anti-Semitism at its schools, but also allowed retaliation to parents who complained about the incidents.
The complaint was originally filed on February 28 and expanded on Monday to include allegations that anti-Jewish bigotry and harassment have escalated over the past three months. Newer incidents described include graffiti reading “Kill Jews” at Berkeley High School, “Kill all Zionists” written at a bus stop used by Berkeley High School students, and a ninth grader being bullied after his parents reported anti-Semitic incidents.
The complaint includes dozens of incidents in which students shouted “f— the Jews” and “KKK” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” during teacher-promoted strikes praising Hamas. For Palestinian activists and supporters, the chant “from the river to the sea” is understood as a call for peace and equality after decades of Israeli military rule; for Jews it means a call for the destruction of Israel.
The complaint also alleges that BUSD teachers indoctrinate students with anti-Semitic tropes and biased, one-sided anti-Israel propaganda disguised as education.
Wednesday’s House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing is the Republican-led committee’s first hearing on anti-Semitism. Two hearings have been held on anti-Semitism on universities where committee members interviewed the heads of Harvard, MIT, the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia.
In addition to Morthel’s appearance, New York City School Chancellor David Banks and Montgomery County School Board President Karla Silvestre of Maryland were also called to testify. A committee staffer told CBS News that the panel had not issued any subpoenas; it asked school district leaders to appear voluntarily.
In a statement to CBS News, BUSD said Morthel “was not attempting” to testify but has accepted the invitation to appear. A BUSD spokeswoman said: “We strive every day to ensure that our classrooms are respectful, humanizing and joyful places for all of our students, where they are welcomed, seen, valued and heard. We will continue to put our students first and taking care of each other during this time.”
