Lawfare Project Calls on California School District to Take Action Against Anti-Semitism
Press Release – For Immediate Release
August 28, 2019
Media Contact:
David Pasch
202-854-1179
dpasch@targetedvictory.com
Civil rights group urges schools to educate students on dangers of modern-day anti-Semitism
New York, NY – Yesterday, The Lawfare Project sent a letter to Pacifica High School Principal Steve Osborne and Garden Grove Unified School District Superintendent Gabriela Mafi concerning a recently publicized anti-Semitic incident and the administration's response.
A November 2018 video recently surfaced of Pacifica High School students singing a Nazi marching song and making Nazi salutes. These events took place at a school function and the administration's statements following the incident have indicated an inadequate response to the students' behavior.
Brooke Goldstein, Executive Director of The Lawfare Project, wrote:
"With all due respect, these statements raise more questions than they answer. What organizations has the district contacted to provide support? What agencies will the district be collaborating with in the fall? Perhaps most important, why is the video being referred to as 'offensive' and the incident being labeled as 'unfortunate?' These incidents and the videos capturing the students' behavior are clearly anti-Semitic; yet, one would not know this by a simple reading of the district's statements. Furthermore, why is there no mention of the impact of this situation on the Jewish members of your community?
This entire incident and the district’s failure to recognize the importance of labeling this matter as anti-Semitism underscores the necessity of explicit education on modern-day anti-Semitism, the forms that it takes, and the necessity of sensitivity to the Jewish community when these issues arise."
The Lawfare Project is committed to ensuring that Jewish students are protected from discrimination in schools. We urge Garden Grove Unified School District to take the actions of these students seriously and use it as an opportunity to have a community-wide discussion on the dangers posed by anti-Semitism.
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The Lawfare Project is a global network of legal professionals that contribute their skills, time, and expertise to defending the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and pro-Israel community, and fighting discrimination wherever they see it.