RSS
NYC public schools announce new initiatives to combat antisemitism
(New York Jewish Week) — The chancellor of New York City’s public school system unveiled a plan to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia, after coming under pressure from Jewish advocates, faculty and students to make reforms.
Chancellor David Banks announced measures including training for faculty, clearer disciplinary guidelines and engagement with faith communities to stem hate in schools.
“We will not solve the crisis in the Middle East, nor the many crises around the world that impact those in our schools, but we can and must live and work and learn together with respect,” Banks said at a briefing on Monday attended by Jewish community leaders.
On Monday, the department said it would be “prioritizing investigations into antisemitism and Islamophobia allegations through our Office of Equal Opportunity.”
The announcement came following several reported antisemitic acts by students in the wake of the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. Students targeted a Jewish teacher in a riot at Hillcrest High School in Queens, and an anti-Israel student walkout in November saw teens shouting antisemitic epithets. There has also been swastika graffiti in schools, some of it predating Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Hard data on antisemitic incidents at New York City public schools is not available, but antisemitism has spiked in the city since Oct. 7, according to NYPD figures, and educators and activists have said the trend has also manifested in schools.
The federal government has also taken notice: On Nov. 30, the Department of Education’s civil rights office announced that it would investigate New York City public schools over allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia — a step it has generally reserved for college campuses but which it has applied to a number of public school districts since Oct. 7. Plans to address antisemitism are generally key to resolving such investigations.
Banks acknowledged that members of the school community had been feeling unsafe, “both physically and emotionally.”
“I hear you. I’m taking this very seriously. Hate and harassment of any kind are unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our schools,” Banks said.
Moving forward, all middle and high school principals will participate in professional development training focused on “navigating difficult conversations” this spring. The school leaders will then relay the training to other staff. Parent leaders will be offered anti-discrimination workshops starting next month.
The school system will also add to its instructional resources on antisemitism and Islamophobia as well as diversity training. Banks said he viewed education as a long-term solution to discrimination in schools.
He said students would be directed to reliable and objective sources of information about the Israel-Gaza conflict. After the incident at Hillcrest, during a briefing at the school, Banks said he believed social media played a central role in stoking the unrest.
“We cannot leave it to social media to educate our children,” Banks said on Monday.
He also said educators must “leave our personal viewpoints at home.” Jewish activists, including the NYC Public Schools Alliance, a recently-formed Jewish advocacy group that includes public school staff, have condemned teachers for endorsing Palestinian narratives both inside and outside the classroom. In one recent incident, a school’s map of the Middle East was found to have omitted Israel, referring to the area solely as Palestine. “Our job is to educate, not to indoctrinate,” Banks said.
Principals will also receive training on disciplining bias incidents with “direct consequences” aimed at reforming behavior.
If the person reporting antisemitism feels the principal has not adequately addressed the incident, Banks outlined alternate ways to report antisemitism directly to his department.
The school system developed the guidelines with input from faith leaders, including New York’s UJA-Federation and Jewish Community Relations Council. The schools will aim to maintain their engagement with faith communities, Banks said.
He highlighted the incident at Hillcrest, from which he graduated in 1980, calling the riot “deeply concerning.” The school’s principal has been replaced and the teacher welcomed back, including by Muslim students, Banks said.
“Together we are charting a productive path forward for the school and I feel really good about what’s happening at Hillcrest High School right now,” Banks said.
—
The post NYC public schools announce new initiatives to combat antisemitism appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
RSS
After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
RSS
Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.