The Education Department has launched an investigation into Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) over allegations that its teachers and staff engaged in discriminatory behavior against Jewish students.
The investigation came as the result of a complaint filed by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The organization alleged that BCPS allowed harassment and discrimination against Jewish students, which is a violation of the Civil Rights Act.
“The allegations that Baltimore City Public Schools tolerate virulent Nazi-inspired anti-Semitic harassment of its Jewish students is at once appalling and infuriating. When a teacher allegedly directs a Nazi salute toward a Jewish student, or non-Jewish students harass their Jewish contemporaries by saying ‘all Jews should die,’ we are not simply talking about contemptible bullying; we are talking about a shocking abdication of educator responsibility that constitutes unlawful anti-Semitic harassment under Title VI,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor, according to a press release.
The complaint accuses BCPS of allowing “egregious and persistent discrimination” against Jews on campus. The district continues to employ a teacher who “threatened to ‘go all Nazi’ on [his] students…and personally directed Nazi salutes towards a Jewish student.”
The school took no disciplinary action against the teacher.
But it gets even worse.
The ADL contends that the district allowed non-Jewish students to bully their Jewish classmates. This included performing the Nazi salute on the playground, drawing Nazi graffiti on desks and in textbooks, and telling Jewish students that “6 million [Jews] was not enough” and that “all Jews should die.”
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Students were also allowed to say, “we should call Hamas and have them come here.”
The constant harassment has prompted many Jewish students to report that they are afraid to walk the hallways alone. It has hindered their ability to focus on their schoolwork. In some ases, Jewish students were compelled to drop classes, conceal their identities, or isolate themselves.
The problem became more pronounced after Hamas killed over 1,000 Israelis during a surprise attack on October 7, 2023, according to Fox 5.
ADL Vice President James Pasch said that “On this essential measure of keeping its Jewish students safe from harassment and intimidation, Baltimore City Public Schools have failed.”
ADL regional director Tali Cohen said, “Rather than removing antisemtism from classrooms and protecting Jewish students, the district remained inactive and silent.”
BREAKING: The Dept. of Ed. has launched a civil rights probe into Baltimore City Public Schools over antisemitism.
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) August 7, 2025
▪️Teacher threatened to “go all Nazi” on Jewish student
▪️Students said “all Jews should die” and “6 million wasn’t enough”
▪️Nazi graffiti, salutes on playground pic.twitter.com/E9VYzpI0To
What is amazing about this story is that if the complaint is accurate, BCPS’s leadership actually believed they would get away with allowing Jewish students to face bigotry each day they came to class. Not only was this happening on campus, but the district was basically encouraging it by refusing to discipline the staff members involved.
It seems to me that this was likely an issue before October 7, but worsened after the attack. But, given who was president at the time, it is not much of a surprise that these people believed they could encourage anti-Jewish bigotry without facing consequences. Hopefully, this investigation will compel the district to stop allowing this nonsense to continue.
Editor’s Note: Townhall is committed to exposing the disturbing rise in antisemitism—especially when it goes unchecked in our schools, institutions, and government.
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