We can’t look away from antisemitism in our schools

I will be testifying Wednesday in front of Congress about the vile scourge of antisemitism and what we are doing to confront it in New York City public schools, the largest school system in the country.

Given the recent controversies surrounding prior hearings with this very committee, some have urged me to stay home, to shy away from national scrutiny.

I refuse.

In fact, it is my responsibility to go before Congress to face this critical, complicated and highly charged issue head on.

The victims of intolerance and hate cannot afford to look away, and neither should their leaders. 

As protests flared on college campuses last week, I visited two universities in New York City, because my first instinct as a leader is to lean into an issue and look at it up close to understand it better.

These visits were deeply insightful.

In some moments, I saw peaceful protest, young people genuinely speaking up for their beliefs.

In others, I saw a line being crossed, veering into hate and exclusion.

When “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” are spray-painted on campus property? That is where we part ways.  

As I visited the protests, I thought about our K-12 children, the future college students of this country, and the type of people I want them to become: thoughtful and empathetic leaders who hold strong convictions but who also disagree civilly, are open to dialogue and appreciate our shared humanity — and always operate under the basic premise of respect for all. 

This charge is especially poignant in a city as diverse as New York.

With more than 1 million students and staff, we speak over 180 languages in our schools and hail from all corners of the globe.

This rich multiculturalism has long been our strength.

Across the country, current events are manifesting in classrooms, on playgrounds and within communities — and our global composition makes these tensions even more acute. 

Indeed, there have been unacceptable instances of hate and antisemitism in our schools, and there is more work to be done to ensure our students and staff feel safe.

By forcefully and proactively standing against hate, I believe we can promote the inclusive school system our city deserves.

That’s why, in New York City public schools, we launched our comprehensive Meeting the Moment plan, focused on three components: safety, engagement and education. 

Safety is our most fundamental responsibility as a school system.

In my 30-plus years in this field, I’ve been a school safety agent, teacher and principal, and I have long believed that when hateful incidents happen in school, we must address them directly, with clear consequences and accountability.

To make sure that is happening across our system, we retrained all 1,600 city public-school principals on how to effectively and consistently apply our Discipline Code. 

Our second focus area is engagement. In my experience, to truly understand an issue, you need to get closer to it.

I also believe those most impacted by a crisis deserve a seat at the table in designing solutions.

To that end, I have personally engaged dozens of community members since Oct. 7, including Jewish and Muslim leaders and organizations, teachers, principals, students, families, elected leaders and more.

We launched an interfaith advisory council as well, because it is critical to demonstrate for our students how to engage in meaningful dialogue, build bridges across communities and share each other’s pain in challenging times.

Finally, we are focused on education — the true antidote to ignorance and prejudice.

My own children learned about antisemitism firsthand from our next-door neighbors — who were Holocaust survivors — in Teaneck, New Jersey.

But as survivors pass on, and in light of current events, the need for education becomes even more pressing.

Our students cannot grow up to view anyone as “the other.”  

So, in addition to covering the Holocaust in the 8th, 10th and 11th grades, we are developing a robust Holocaust educator guide with the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

We have also expanded professional learning and resources on antisemitism, partnered with the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes on a new hate-crimes curriculum and trained every middle and high-school principal on navigating difficult conversations. 

There is always more to be done, and we will continue to advance and refine our approach.

We recently announced that we are creating two new curricula highlighting the culture and contributions of the Jewish and Muslim American communities, resources that families and partners had directly requested.

And we will continue to welcome input, because we are committed to getting this right and because we know we can only solve this together. 

Wednesday is the 79th anniversary of V-E (Victory in Europe) Day, the day the Nazis surrendered to the Allied Forces.

The world has defeated antisemitism before, and we must work to combat it wherever and whenever it rears its heads.  

So in New York City schools, we’re not just talking the talk. We’re rolling up our sleeves and taking action.

We have a plan — focused on safety, engagement and education — to fight hate, because every single student and staff member deserves to feel safe and welcome in our schools. 

Ultimately, our job is to build leaders of tomorrow, leaders who appreciate diversity, demonstrate respect and value our shared humanity.

There is no place better to take up this work than in New York City schools, the incubator for future leaders of our global world.

David C. Banks is the New York City schools chancellor.