State finds Oakland Unified created ‘discriminatory environment’ for Jewish students

In three separate hearings, the California Department of Education ruled that the Oaklaveland Unified School District had created a “discriminatory environment” for Jewish students and staff, contradicting the district’s findings.

In the decisions issued in late October, the Ministry of Education also criticized the district for taking more than a year, to respond to the complaints of Jewish families in the case of investigating their results that may have shed light on their results.

Additional complaints that could not be addressed reveal antisemitism in the sacks of Marleen Marleen, who represented Jewish families in the district. He filed complaints as a concerned member of the public.

“There are anti-Israeli rallies, pro-Palestinian rallies, maps hanging in teachers’ classrooms, in school hallways, in hall offices,” he said. “There are some schools where Pro-Palestine Propaganda has recently appeared, which is not appropriate. The region is a hostile place for Jews and Israelis.”

In its initial response to the complaints released Wednesday, Oakland Unified said that, due to the Department of Education’s findings, “we will begin additional training in December to respond directly, and address hate more broadly.”

“We are in the process of implementing the corrective actions identified by both the boats and the CDE in a purposeful and effective manner so that the objective and non-essential personnel get the necessary perspective on teaching and sworn campuses,” the statement said.

Oakland Unicied’s first complaints that occurred in the weeks following Oct. 7, 2023, killed 1,200 Israelites by 250. The education decisions of the Ministry of Education show the arrows of Judah and the students in the district of 34 000 students who are faced with the renewal of teachers and students of Palestine.

One complaint is the banning of the Palestinian flag from flying at Fremont High School in mid-October 2023. The school has found Transger Pride and flags of Latin American countries, in the past. However, a government inquiry said the district failed to check that flying the Palestinian flag at the time could be seen as favoritism. The state ended up influencing the area of ​​discrimination against Jewish students.

This other complaint characterized the unauthorized Funds in Palestine, led by twelve teachers, as clean “observance” involving the view of Israel because of the conflict. The District’s investigation points to the “reasonable steps” it took to confront its employees to present non-discriminatory comments and mention any situations or employees they know because of how it affects them. “

But the district also acknowledged that some of the materials created by outside groups violated the district’s policy of teaching conflicting lessons and Palestinians as victims and Israelis as oppressors.

The State’s investigation found that, as was the case with the FlagPole incident, the district’s investigation did not directly respond to the complaint’s alleged harassment or intimidation of Jewish students and staff. A State investigation, noting that the Fund-in-Floud was released for Israel’s perspective on the Palestinian conflict, supported the claim.

And, in October, the Ministry of Education released its discovery of the third complaint, filed in 2024, when the region was discriminated against the Jews by sending the Arab Heritage Month, a map of the Middle East that supported Palestine Four years ago.

More complaints in the pipeline

Sacks cover all three appeals, and more to come. He filed a total of 25 against the District, revealing free Palestinian posters in various school classrooms, additional educational, daily submissions and “disruptive interference” in the antisemitism training course. Appeals are in various stages of review, and some are before the State Department of Education on appeal.

Sacks said at least a dozen Jewish parents transferred their children to other districts or sent their children to a private school because of the antisemitic environment of the union.

Some students and staff are “hiding their Jews,” the sacks said. “They did not say that their parents are Israelis, they were told, ‘How can you support genocide?’ So it is simply silenced by negotiation. It’s humbling, and it’s terrifying. “

But pro-Palestine groups such as the Arab Resources and Planning Center in San Francisco, which put some of the materials used for the Funds

“Palestinian students and their supporters have long faced attacks and accusations of being called antisemitic for their support for Palestinian freedom. “The fact that the flag that teaches and the Palestinian flag that represents the people will be considered antisemitic is racist, in fact, because it shows that the Palestinians who promote their identity see that the Palestinians want dignity or rights.”

Will federal remedies work?

Upon discovering that the district had passed discriminatory orders and Fund-In, the State ordered that the district, within the next few months, hire a non-district coach to prevent the investigation of Education Code Consteries – this time, focusing on the Middle East conflict. The state also required training in complying with the 60-day deadline for responding to complaints.

Doubtful sacks will make a difference. The district tries to present the complaints as isolated incidents, but antisemitism is endemic in the district, he said. If the district wanted to end it, it would have looked at the classrooms during teaching hours, reprimanded those who expressed their beliefs, and talked to other Jewish families who were transferred under them, he said.

Another advocacy organization in the Palestinian Authority, the American-Arab-Anti-Apartheid Committee, filed a lawsuit this month, making the same argument as the shehk to derail the bishop’s donation written in January, which is gov. It is intended to protect all students, but especially Jewish students, from discrimination. The plaintiffs, who also included teachers of the Justice Department in Palestine, said the law would violate the 1st amendment by bringing back discussions and opinions related to the status of Israel (see related article).

Closely related to the Oakland complaints, ab 715 includes a provision intended to prepare counties to resolve discrimination complaints sooner. It would allow complainants to take a complaint directly to the Department of Education when a district fails to meet the 60-day response deadline.

The law also created a coordinator for the prevention of antisemitism, separate from the Ministry of Education, who would act as an Ombudsman and write and document incidents of antisemitism. The individual will have the power to require school districts to develop strategies to improve coping with school sites.

“Antisemitism is dangerous, antifessical to California values, and should not be tolerated in any California classroom, regardless of whether Jewish students are present in that course,” the bill’s introduction said.

John Fensetterwald writes at Edsource.