Earlier this week, 5TownsCentral reported the despicable incident of a Jewish teacher in Hillcrest High School who barricaded herself in an office from a pro-Hamas mob of students for two hours.
This came after someone had noticed that she had uploaded a picture to her Facebook page of her supporting Israel.
This very school had an officer beat up just one week ago by a student, and the school tried to cover it up. Mayor Adams anounced that the NYC School system is already conducting a full investigation into how this incident took place. This week, Project Pivot teams will begin outreach with students at Hillcrest to ensure they understand why this behavior was unacceptable.
Chancellor Banks held a conference yesterday addressing the recent events at Hillcrest High School:
LIVE: Chancellor Banks is addressing recent events at Hillcrest High School https://t.co/DfAlQJk6eB
— NYC Public Schools (@NYCSchools) November 27, 2023
Many local leaders and politicians rallied Monday morning to inform NYC Education leaders that this cannot continue.
Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, who has been an absolute beacon of moral clarity, shared thoughts below:
“An anonymous source within the DOE shared a video (see below) with my office of students at Hillcrest High School brutally attacking a uniformed school safety officer.
This event apparently happened a week before the riot.
The school administration tried to cover this up in the same way they tried to cover up the riot.
It’s clear that the administration of Hillcrest is totally compromised and either unwilling or unable to do what’s necessary to provide a safe environment to their students or their faculty. Furthermore, they seem more than willing to cover up crimes committed by their students in service of a political narrative, and to prevent these criminal students from facing consequences.
Were it not brought to the attention of my office, this may have remained covered up. And who knows what else they’re hiding at this point.
This cannot continue. Hillcrest High School must be shut down pending a full and thorough investigation, and the administration must be held accountable. Furthermore, the students who committed these acts must be arrested immediately and face appropriate criminal charges.
This cannot continue in our schools. Order and discipline must be restored. We’ve tried ‘progressive’ educational theory for far too long, and it’s gotten us absolutely nowhere. Our students and our city deserve far better than this.”
The “NYC Common Sense Caucus” shared the following statement on the antisemitic rioting and rampant criminal behavior at Hillside High.
For the safety of children who want to learn and teachers who want to teach, the criminals must be identified, charged and removed from the school.
What happened at Hillcrest HS is the culmination of years of CRT, DEI, youth activism, criminal reforms, social media and the breakdown of families.
When our institutions are drowning in ideology, incompetence and corruption @NYCSchools @UFT, we have to take account of our… pic.twitter.com/4zVgwzYFSP
— Yiatin Chu (@ycinnewyork) November 27, 2023
2 weeks ago, a uniformed safety officer was savagely assaulted in Hillcrest Public High School.
The incident was totally covered up until now. We only have this video thanks to a leaker at the Department Of Education.
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) November 27, 2023
As a graduate of Hillcrest High School, it both angers me and breaks my heart to see young people using violence to try to silence those who stand with Israel. As a Mom, I worry about my sons’ future if we ever accept a nation where bullies decide what others may or may not say.
— Melinda Katz (@MelindaKatz) November 26, 2023
The recent incident at Hillcrest High School is completely unacceptable.
Antisemitism and hate in any form cannot be tolerated in New York, especially in our schools.https://t.co/CB6s4UMnmg
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) November 27, 2023
Antisemitism, harassment and intimidation of Jewish students and faculty at public schools has become systemic. The DOE must end it, and it must end it now. Listen to a student account from Murrow High School. Tonight we had a call with the DOE, Murrow’s principal Alan Barge,… pic.twitter.com/K3Ugllqfie
— Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (@InnaVernikov) November 28, 2023
