US rep. calls for investigation into Jew-hatred in NYC public schools
New York rep. Lee Zeldin urges action after learning of a group of NYC teachers spreading anti-Israel material in their classrooms.
LEE ZELDIN CENTER BELOW:
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) is calling on the Department of Education to launch an investigation into a number of New York City public school teachers he accused of indoctrinating children with anti-Israel material.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, Zeldin penned an August 3 letter to the federal Department of Education and its New York City counterpart decrying the situation and urging the departments to "do everything in [their] power to combat anti-Semitic and anti-Israel bias and discrimination in public schools."
Zeldin’s call for action comes on the heels of a public school teachers group calling themselves New York City Educators for Palestine who wrote a letter that alleged Israel was "ethnically cleansing Palestinians” and made other inflammatory statements about Jews.
Zeldin said in his letter that the organization behind the heavily criticized missive used "talking points all too commonly used to fuel violent attacks on and discrimination against Jews."
"Using anti-Israel rhetoric in our children's schools will only escalate and embolden anti-Semitic attacks and vitriol throughout our country," Zeldin wrote.
He noted that a 2019 executive order signed by President Trump obliges the Department of Education and the Office of Civil Rights to “investigate and take decisive action if a case of anti-Semitism is substantiated.”
Likewise, he said that the New York State Education Department’s Office of School Personnel Review and Accountability is tasked with investigating “allegations against the moral character of individuals who currently possess or are in the process of obtaining their New York State teaching certificate."
"Now that we are aware of our educators perpetuating anti-Jewish and anti-Israel rhetoric, the OCR and OSPRA must remain vigilant and root out any cases of antisemitism at the source,” Zeldin stated.
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