To Superintendent Ford Morthel and BUSD Board of Education,

As parents of Jewish students in BUSD schools and concerned allies of the Jewish community, we are dismayed, disappointed and frightened by the district’s lack of care for our students’ physical and psychological safety in school since the October 7 terrorist attacks, which killed more Jews than in any moment in our history since the Holocaust.

Our kids are reporting hearing antisemitic comments in the hallways, enduring blatant calls to “kill the Jews” or “eliminate Israel.” Non-Jewish students asking Jewish students what “their number is,” referring to the numbers tattooed on many Jews in concentration camps during the Holocaust. Many students have endured antisemitic statements from teachers, and witnessed art and propaganda hung in their classroom with echoes to Nazi Germany. They report being worried about mob violence – being “jumped” at school for being Jewish. Kids who once proudly wore Stars of David or Hamsas, or t-shirts from their religious camps, are moderating what they wear to school to help hide their Judaism. They are keeping their heads down, hiding who they are, and moving through their school days in fear.

Most of us who reported these incidents to the administration have not had our calls or emails returned. The few of us who did get responses, were greeted with antagonism, disbelief and an utter lack of professionalism.

Can you imagine how this must feel for them, and for us as parents and members of this school community?

We are not asking for BUSD to take a political position on the war. Middle East geopolitics are complex, and the Israel-Hamas war is the result of thousands of years of conflict. Our singular ask at this time is for BUSD to live up to its mission to ensure that all students feel safe at school, that all students are treated equally and inclusively, and that all forms of hate are actively condemned: antisemitism, racism, Islamophobia, anti-Arab sentiment and so on.

BUSD needs to communicate to Jewish students that, just as the district does not tolerate hate speech against those of other faiths and backgrounds, antisemitism will not be tolerated. Further, it is critical to provide clear and safe mechanisms to report when anti-semitic incidents occur.

BUSD also needs to take focused, intentional action to ensure our Jewish students feel physically and psychologically safe at school – together with Muslim students, Arab students and all student communities impacted by the situation in the Middle East.

BUSD has a history of not recognizing Jewish students as part of its equity and inclusion practices. Our community has had conversations with the district for many years around its failure to recognize major Jewish holidays, including scheduling significant school or district events on holy days. Further, the district wrongly assumes Jewish students are part of a white population and therefore do not need protection. While there are many Jews of European descent, there are also Black, Latino, Middle Eastern and Asian Jews in our community. Regardless of our immigration path to the United States or the color of our skin, Jews have historically been the object of persecution, discrimination, pogroms and expulsion. Failing to include our children in the district’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts is devastating for us.

We want to be part of the solution in addressing these issues, and we have two clear requests of the district:

1. Take active steps to ensure our Jewish kids feel physically and psychologically safe at school.
   1. Communicate a no-tolerance policy against anti semitism, hate speech or any other targeting of Jewish students. Make clear that antisemitic acts or behavior has disciplinary consequences. Demonstrate that protection for all students of all religions includes those who are Jewish.
   2. Outline for students a simple and safe, anonymous, mechanism for reporting anti-semitic incidents on BUSD campuses.
2. Listen, respond and take action based on feedback from Jewish families. We request two sessions.
   1. An open listening session with parents and students Jewish community to hear our concerns.
   2. A meeting with clergy from synagogues in Berkeley to seek to further understand the challenges our community is facing and how the district can partner with other institutions to ensure our safety.

We expect BUSD to actively recognize how traumatic it is to be a Jewish child at this moment and to ensure that Berkeley public schools are free from antisemitism.

Thank you.