MID-ATLANTIC EDITION

Headlines

DOE Expands Swarthmore College Antisemitism Probe Amid SJP Video Controversy
NYC Teacher Posts Nazi-Echoing Memes, Jewish Families Flee Public Schools
Pitt's Antisemitism Report Criticized for Excluding Jewish Student Voices

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Transcript

You're listening to Antisemitism Watch: Mid-Atlantic edition, I'm Rachel Adler.

The U.S. Department of Education has announced it is expanding its antisemitism investigation into Swarthmore College, according to swarthmorephoenix.com. The expansion, which follows a 2025 investigation, is due to complaints that the college inadequately responded to 'egregious antisemitic propaganda on campus.' This action was prompted by the reposting of a video by a former campus group, Students for Justice in Palestine, which depicted an effigy of an Israeli soldier being doused in lighter fluid and burned, accompanied by the message 'Long Live Al-Aqsa Flood,' a term used by Hamas terrorists. OCR Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey stated that if Swarthmore has 'turned a blind eye to such provocation... someone is asleep at the wheel,' adding that the Trump Administration will 'never allow students to be subjected to an unsafe learning environment.' Swarthmore President Val Smith condemned the video, stating, 'I condemn this hateful depiction of violence, just as I do all forms of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other discrimination.' However, President Smith also affirmed that the college 'will comply with the law and work with the Department of Education as it reviews the allegations.' Swarthmore's chapter of SJP has not been officially recognized by the college since September 2025.

In New York City, a public school teacher has been posting antisemitic memes on social media, as reported by the New York Post. Maysa Jarara, a math teacher at Park Slope Collegiate, posted an image on July 19 depicting Lionel Messi with a grotesque caricature resembling Nazi propaganda and a yarmulke, captioned to echo tropes of Jews being greedy. Jarara also reposted messages denigrating Israel, including one with an Israeli flag covered in blood, and an illustration celebrating the Hamas October 7th attacks. United Jewish Teachers President Moshe Spern told the New York Post that Jarara 'has crossed a major line by trafficking in classic antisemitic tropes that cast Jews as greedy and scheming.' New York City Public Schools Alliance President Karen Feldman called the posts 'deeply disturbing,' stating, 'We have a teacher who is entrusted with educating children publicly sharing inflammatory, biased, and historically misleading posts about Israel and the Jewish people.' The New York Post also noted other instances of antisemitism within the NYC Department of Education, including a teacher texting 'Long live Yahya Al-Sinwar' and another hosting an antisemitic conspiracy podcast. Thousands of Jewish families have reportedly pulled their children from city public schools to shield them from anti-Israel sentiment, leading to a surge in enrollment at Jewish schools, with a roughly 3,100 influx, according to a study from Teach Coalition cited by the New York Post.

At the University of Pittsburgh, an internal working group on campus antisemitism recently published a report with recommendations but did not include or solicit research into the experiences of the school's estimated 1,400 Jewish students, according to jpost.com. The report, released in July, has divided the campus, drawing criticism from the left for potentially limiting speech and from within the campus Jewish community for the lack of consultation. The working group's chair, Katherine Blee, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that their charge from the chancellor and provost was not to provide data but to offer recommendations based on group discussions. The university has agreed to implement recommendations including strengthening Title VI compliance, providing clear guidance on free speech and protest policies, reviewing bias training, and committing to new dialogue programming. However, the University's Jewish Studies program director, initially a member of the working group, did not sign the final document. The American Association of University Professors' local chapter also called for the report to be withdrawn. The issue of antisemitism at Pitt gained urgency after two Jewish students wearing kippahs were wounded in an off-campus attack in 2024, prior to the working group's announcement, jpost.com reported.

I'm Rachel Adler, thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch: Mid-Atlantic edition.

For broader coverage of antisemitism across the United States and around the world, listen to Antisemitism Watch at clockwork media dot org slash A W.

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This report was generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with primary sources.

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Sources:
- nypost.com: https://nypost.com/2026/10/17/us-news/nyc-teacher-posts-antisemitic-meme-of-lionel-messi/
- jpost.com: https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-911967
- swarthmorephoenix.com: https://swarthmorephoenix.com/2026/10/17/doe-expands-title-vi-antisemitism-investigation-into-the-college/

If you've witnessed or experienced an antisemitic incident, report it to your local Jewish Federation:

In a true emergency, call 911 first.

• Middlesex & Monmouth, NJ — Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey: Report an incident

• Greater MetroWest, NJ (Essex, Morris, Union, Somerset) — Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ: Report an incident

• Northern NJ (Bergen, Hudson, Passaic) — Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey: Report an incident

• Greater Philadelphia — Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia: Report an incident

• NYC, Long Island, Westchester & Rockland — UJA-Federation of New York: Responding to antisemitism