Congressional probe targets antisemitism crisis in Philadelphia schools

Exclusive: A spokesman for Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced that School District of Philadelphia Need to address the increasing prevalence of anti-Semitism in classrooms.

The alleged anti-Jewish climate in the nation’s eighth-largest school district, nicknamed the City of Brotherly Love, recently sparked a congressional investigation into its education system said to be infected with hatred of Jews and Israel.

“Governor Shapiro does not take a backseat to anyone on these issues, and as he has repeatedly spoken, anti-Semitism and this type of hateful rhetoric is unacceptable and has no place in Pennsylvania — especially not in our classrooms. The Governor has made clear that this is an issue the district must take seriously,” Shapiro spokeswoman Rosie Lapowski told Fox News Digital.

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Anti-Israel protesters march against the war in Gaza in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 25, 2024. (Matthew Hatcher/AFP via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital interviewed parents and teachers from the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) and presented the findings, along with the November meeting. Education and Workforce Committee Notice of Investigation into Anti-Semitism in Philadelphia Public Schools to the Office of the Governor.

The House Education and Workforce Committee is investigating “whether a hostile environment exists against Jewish K-12 students,” according to its letter obtained by Fox News Digital.

“The Committee is deeply concerned by the SPD’s failure to meet its obligations under Title VI. Since October 7, 2023, the Committee has received allegations that the SPD is rife with anti-Semitic incidents, including allegations of teachers spreading anti-Semitism in classrooms and the SPD approving anti-Semitic strikes that segregate Jewish students,” the congressional letter said.

“Due to these alleged failures,” the letter continued, “the Social Democratic Party has entered into a federally mandated corrective action plan with US Department of Education In December 2024: However, according to press and whistleblower reports, anti-Semitic incidents have continued to spread since the plan.

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Governor Josh Shapiro speaks at the Celebrate Freedom Gala during Wawa Welcome America on July 04, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images)

Fox News Digital obtained messages and a document from a private Signal messaging group affiliated with Philadelphia Teachers for Palestine. The group drafted a “Basic Commitments” document that defends all Palestinian “resistance.” Critics say much of Palestinian resistance involves violence as well as terrorism.

According to Philadelphia Educators for Palestine, “All resistance is valid. We reject any false equivalence between the violent systems that oppress us and our responses to them.”

The anti-Israel group recruited school children to advance its anti-Jewish agenda, the text messages said. Per district policy, teachers should not communicate with students on social media platforms. “In order to maintain a professional and appropriate relationship with students, district employees should not communicate with students currently enrolled in district schools on personal social media sites,” the SDP policy states.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Philadelphia Teachers for Palestine for comment.

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“This is a shocking example of… Public school teachers They intentionally abuse their position, and go against their district’s policies, to encourage political activism in their students. Inviting high school students to a private Signal chat and engaging them in discussions and events that promote political violence goes beyond the pale. The Philadelphia School District must take appropriate action.”

numerous Jewish parents and teachers He spoke to Fox News Digital on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from anti-Israel teachers and the Philadelphia School District.

One Jewish parent said: “There are teachers and administrators who perpetuate hatred of Jews,” adding: “[Ismael] Jimenez uses his public social media to stir up hatred of Jews.” Ismael Jimenez is the Social Studies Curriculum Director for the Social Democratic Party.

Sunrise light hits the dome of the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, January 2, 2025, as the 119th Congress is scheduled to begin its work on Friday. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The congressional letter also names Jimenez as a senior SPD official who has been “widely condemned by Jewish advocacy groups in light of” his pattern of denying the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel, refusing to talk about peace or coexistence, and downplaying the lived experiences of Jewish people in the face of violence. In a recent example, after the killing of two Israeli embassy employees and an anti-Semitic firebombing attack in Colorado, the senior official wrote: “With American brutality, you should not be surprised when the brutality turns against you.”

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According to the congressional letter, “Today, the SPD employs several teachers who are allegedly promoting anti-Semitic content in their classrooms. One of these teachers is alleged to have threatened Jewish parents and students online. She and other teachers in Philadelphia are also alleged to be using lessons from an effort called Teach Palestine, whose classroom materials justify terrorist violence and call for the destruction of Israel.”

The congressional letter highlights the actions of teachers and the administrator. The person allegedly “threatening Jewish parents and students” has been identified as Kazia Ridgway. Other teachers allegedly used lessons from Teach Palestine, according to social media posts and the letter.

A school teacher in Philadelphia told Fox News Digital that the state of the SPD is “complacency and encouraging pro-Palestinian bias in the region. There is no recipe for confronting anti-Semitism in school.”

Shelley Robinson, a Philadelphia schoolteacher who retired in 2021 and taught at Northeast High School, Pennsylvania’s largest high school, told Fox News Digital that at one multicultural exhibit, “there was a map on stage at school and there was no Israel.” “A group of Muslim students started selling ‘River to Sea’ buttons after October 7,” said Robinson, who graduated from Northeast and has deep connections to the school. “Things got very bad for the Jewish teachers at Northeast after October 7.”

The Anti-Defamation League described this statement as: Anti-Semitic slogan It appears commonly in anti-Israel campaigns and is chanted at demonstrations.”

Memorials at the site of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Ra’im, Israel, on Monday, May 27, 2024. (Coby Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A terrorist organization designated by the United States agitation It invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, and massacred more than 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans.

Robinson recalls a professional development coach telling a student group called No Place for Hate that they “should stop promoting white heroes named Shakespeare and Einstein, and they said we should encourage refugees.”

When Robinson pointed out that German physicist Albert Einstein was a refugee who fled Nazi Germany, the teacher development specialist said: “But he was Jewish.” “I started to see what was happening in the school district that had been happening for 20 years,” Robinson said.

Jimenez and Ridgway, who are also said to be members of Philadelphia Teachers for Palestine, declined to respond to Fox News’ digital press inquiries.

While Shapiro readily criticized the situation, other leaders in the state preferred to pass the buck.

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“This is a matter for the School District of Philadelphia, not the city government. We have no comment,” Leah Oko, a spokeswoman for Philadelphia Mayor Cheryl Parker, told Fox News Digital.

“It is the policy of the School District of Philadelphia to refrain from commenting on active investigations,” a spokesperson for Dr. Tony Watlington, Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, told Fox News Digital.