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Students, parents and other community members beseeched Palo Alto Unified School District leaders Tuesday night, Oct. 24, to show their stance against antisemitism and terrorism amid an increase of instances of antisemitism nationwide in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.
During an emotional public comment segment of a packed district board meeting, about 20 speakers urged school trustees to pass a proposed resolution denouncing assaults on the Jewish community. They argued that such a demonstration would go a long way to make Jewish students feel supported and safe at their schools.
For right now, Ori Cohen doesn’t feel that way at all.
As the militant group Hamas launched a devastating offensive on Israel, “I faced both the immense anxiety about what happened in this nightmare as well as the disappointment with a lack of response from my school,” the 17-year-old Palo Alto High senior said, addressing the board. “I was forced to sit and watch as my administration — the people responsible for educating me in a safe environment — completely neglected my community and failed to condemn a terror attack in fear of pushback.”
Board President Jennifer DiBrienza told this publication that she and her colleagues were set to consider a resolution condemning horrific acts by Hamas and antisemitism.
But the item was pulled from the meeting agenda in part to take as many public comments on the matter as possible, DiBrienza said. “There was concern from the community that we hadn’t really heard input from everybody.”
However, the resolution and another one that focuses on support for the Muslim community are expected to go before the board at a special meeting Friday morning, Oct. 27.
“The other one is a resolution that we worked on with our Muslim community, raising their concerns and their fears,” DiBrienza said, “and I hope that our board passes them both.”
Ali Khaki, a district parent, told the board he would like to see the dual resolutions approved. He said he can relate to being hurt and isolated due to racism because he experienced similar anti-Muslim bullying as a teen during 9/11.
“I remember being harassed and called slurs in chat groups and online,” he said. “I appreciate the grief and pain among many members of our local community, and I think if the district feels compelled to pass resolutions about this, we have to recognize all students.”
Edith Cohen, parent of a former Palo Alto High student, expressed similar sentiments to the board.
“This is not time for silence,” said Cohen (no relation to Ori). “I am calling on you to pass the resolution as proposed calling out against antisemitism. You need to pass also another resolution against Islamophobia.”
Palo Alto resident Jeannet Kiessling felt the district should’ve acted immediately to say “the right thing at the right time in condemning the Hamas attack,” she said. “As a German citizen whose people have been responsible for the worst atrocities against Jews, I urge you to take a clear stance against rampant antisemitism, indifference and fear.”
The anti-hate organization Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Tuesday reported that incidents of antisemitism in the U.S. have dramatically surged since the crisis broke out earlier this month.
In that span, according to the ADL, preliminary data indicated that reported cases of harassment, vandalism and assault against Jews skyrocketed by 388% over the same period last year.
Just last week in Palo Alto, a swastika was reportedly found outside a Starbucks café on El Camino Real — just a few blocks from district offices.
Communities on the Peninsula and beyond have also had to contend with a recent rash of hate-filled Zoom bombings, or bigoted online speech targeting public forums such as city council meetings in Palo Alto, Redwood City and Atherton.
Palo Alto Unified has taken the preemptive action of suspending public comments over Zoom for the next few board meetings, DiBrienza said.
That decision was motivated in large part by the racist and antisemitic remarks that spewed over Zoom during the Oct. 16 Palo Alto council meeting, in which DiBrienza said she and two other board members — Todd Collins and Shana Segal — participated in person or remotely.
The board members were “traumatized by the hate speech and invectives directed at me — at Jews,” Segal said at the start of the board meeting Tuesday night. The comments that jolted the council meeting “further demonstrated the need to draft a resolution and why we were doing so quickly.”
She added: “There is a widespread humanitarian crisis in Gaza that has become even more acute, and we mourn the devastating loss of innocent lives in Gaza, including innocent children, as well as the appalling conditions there.
“So given the circumstances, we felt it was important for the board to draft a resolution denouncing antisemitism, Islamophobia, bigotry, hatred and intolerance while expressing support for our Jewish students,” Segal said. “Many were afraid to send their kids to school, and many families did not send their kids to school.”
Annabel Honigstein, 17, a senior at Gunn High, told the board that she felt as traumatized now as she did after a violent experience when she was in Israel.
“Two years ago, my family and I were eating dinner in Tel Aviv when a terrorist shot and killed three people in the bar adjacent to the restaurant,” she said. “I will never forget fear. I came back home utterly terrified and completely traumatized. And now two years later, I’m terrified once again. I’m utterly disappointed by the lack of support I’m receiving from my community, my school and the district.”