The Trump administration on Thursday launched a civil rights probe into New York City’s public schools over claims that pro-Palestinian teachers discriminated against Jewish students.
In a news release, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) said it received reports about a coalition of teachers known as “NYC Educators for Palestine” organizing seminars focused on “Palestine, Zionism, and Resistance.”
“No child should be taught by his or her teachers to hate their peers,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in a statement. “Neither should Jewish children be taught that being Jewish somehow makes them inherently guilty or proponents of hate and violence.”
“The Trump administration will not turn a blind eye to antisemitic harassment. OCR will investigate these appalling allegations to ensure the equal treatment of all students.”
While the exact seminars federal officials referring to were not immediately clear, NYC Educators for Palestine’s Instagram in January advertised a free “Palestine Teach-In” for children ages 6 to 18 on this past Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The Trump administration said NYC Educators for Palestine allegedly taught the kids about “‘contemporary and historical Palestinian resistance,’ that Zionists are ‘genocidal white supremacists,’ and to support the federally designated terrorist organization Hamas.”
Federal officials did not immediately provide evidence of the teachers’ alleged support for Hamas.
The Daily News has reached out to a spokeswoman for the city’s public schools for comment.
This is a developing story and will be updated.