The Baltimore Jewish Council and The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore issued a statement last week regarding allegations made against Baltimore City Public Schools outlined in a complaint to the U.S. Department of Education.
The federal civil rights complaint — issued by the Anti-Defamation League — offers examples of a “pervasive hostile environment” in Baltimore schools. It alleges that Jewish students feel bullied, harassed and discriminated, and that the school system has largely ignored and failed to address the complaints and concerns.
“One of our highest priorities is to ensure that students, families, teachers, and staff are able to learn together in an environment free of antisemitism and hate,” read the July 30 statement from The Associated and the BJC. “We are grateful for our partnership with the ADL, which has assigned its legal resources to this investigation and complaint.
“We look forward to engaging with the Baltimore City schools to address these allegations and ensure that the necessary steps are put in place to eradicate any and all antisemitism within the system. If you would like to report an incident of antisemitism anywhere in the Baltimore metropolitan area, please contact us at https://baltjc.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/security-or-antisemitism-incident-reporting-form.”
To combat the surge of anti-Jewish activity around the nation, The Associated recently created the Center to Counter Antisemitism and Hate. The center will be headed by executive director Rebecca Krasner, who most recently served as director of education at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia.
The center builds on years of work conducted by The Associated and the BJC. The center will focus on education, security, coalition-building and countering misinformation.
“Combatting antisemitism is one of The Associated’s top priorities, which is one reason why it has created the newly announced Center for Combating Antisemitism and Hate,” read the statement from The Associated and the BJC. “This Center, which coordinates efforts throughout Baltimore, including the work of the BJC, is poised to work with the schools, corporations, and other partners to respond in instances such as this. We must all work together to respond as the needs arise.
“We look forward to engaging with the Baltimore City schools to address these allegations and ensure that the necessary steps are put in place to eradicate any and all antisemitism within the system.”
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