This article was updated on 4/15/24 with a comment from Dallas ISD.
International pro-Israel nonprofit organization StandWithUs has filed a complaint against the Dallas Independent School District for enabling a hostile campus environment for Jewish students.
The complaint was filed on Tuesday by StandWithUs and an unnamed Jewish student with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.
According to a Wednesday press release announcing the complaint, Dallas ISD has allegedly enabled an environment of hostility towards Jewish students at Hillcrest High School that takes the form of harassment, intimidation, marginalization, and discrimination.
The student who joined StandWithUs in filing the complaint, referred to in the document as “Co-complainant,” stated that he has been subject to repeated targeting due to his Jewish ancestry since at least 2021.
“Reported incidents include: physical abuse; verbal taunting; ridiculing with reference to Hitler, Auschwitz gas chambers, and the Holocaust; and highly offensive name-calling,” the complaint reads in part.
Some of the names included in the complaint are “dirty Jew” and “filthy k*ke.”
Following the Oct. 7 massacre by the terrorist organization Hamas, harassment reportedly began to include references to the Israel-Palestine conflict such as “The k*kes are just getting what they deserve. Free Palestine!”
The complaint further explains that these alleged incidents of harassment often took place in plain sight and in public areas, such as in classrooms or hallways—often with teachers present.
According to the complaint, other more egregious instances of verbal abuse at Hillcrest High School were reported to administrators by the student and his mother. The student reported being taunted by classmates as they passed by his desk and it was loud enough for the entire classroom to hear.
Some of these phrases included, “You’re such a k*ke, like if I were you, I’d k*ll myself”; and “Go bathe in Auschwitz where you belong. Wish you died with your great aunt, that sorry *ss lame story you told me.”
Yet, Dallas ISD has an anti-bullying policy—which clearly defines the definition of what constitutes bullying as “hazing, threats, taunting, teasing, confinement, assault, demands for money, extortion, destruction of property, theft of valued possessions, ridicule, name-calling, rumor spreading, slurs, jokes, innuendos, demeaning comments, and ostracism of the person or another.”
StandWithUs wrote in the press release that the complaint is intended to seek intervention from the U.S. Department of Education on behalf of the protection of the student’s civil rights. The DoE can appoint an investigator to look into the culture and climate at Hillcrest and ensure that the school district remains in compliance with the Civil Rights Act.
“People don’t realize that many of the same concerns we have about rising antisemitism on college campuses are also playing out in high schools like Hillcrest,” StandWithUs CEO Roz Rothstein stated.
“Hate and racism, if not stopped in its tracks, will fester like the dangerous cancer that it is, and grow. Administrations and faculty must intervene early or face the consequences of their unfortunate inaction,” he continued.
“Dallas ISD prides itself on fostering a diverse and inclusive environment that celebrates all ethnicities, religions, cultures, and backgrounds,” a Dallas ISD spokesperson told Texas Scorecard. “Any attempt to undermine this belief through hate speech, derogatory language or offensive behavior is taken very seriously and will not be tolerated. Beyond that, the district has not received the document referenced and does not comment on student privacy matters.”
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