DV Journal

Deena Pack of Bala Cynwyd, an Orthodox Jewish mother of three, is one of several parents who talked about antisemitic incidents that happened to their children in Lower Merion schools. Her youngest son was a pupil at Cynwyd Elementary School last year.

Hers was just one account of several told to about 100 Jewish parents and community members who gathered at Har Zion Temple in Penn Valley recently to discuss antisemitism in the Lower Merion School District.

“In January 2024, he had his first physical assault because he was wearing a kippah [yarmulke],” said Pack. A child asked him what it was, and he said, “’It’s a kippah. It’s like a kufi. We’re cousins.’ The child beat him up. I cried very bitter tears. He cried very bitter tears.”

“He said, ‘How could they hate me because of my hat?’” Pack said. He refused to wear a kippah for six months, wearing a baseball hat instead.”

Later three middle school boys pulled off his kippah yelling, ‘Happy Sabbath, Jew!’” Pack reported it to the principal.

Steve Rosenberg, Brandy Shufutinsky and Lori Lowenthal-Marcus

“The amount of silence after those two episodes was deafening,” said Pack. Although the boy’s teacher supported him and the principal wanted to help, “There was no resource available. Restorative justice is sometimes not justice.”

A different child beat him up on the playground, pulled his pants down and laughed at him, she said.

“He’s 9,” she said. “Can you imagine what that does to someone who is 9?”

Then “the same girl who beat him up for wearing a kippah beat him up again.”

She emailed the superintendent and the principal and got no response. The district permitted that girl to walk on the stage and graduate with her classmates, Pack said.

“I don’t care what race they are, what culture they are, no child should ever experience that feeling,” said Pack. “We have to stand up for our kids. He wasn’t safe to go to middle school. We pulled him and sent him to a private school.”

Dani Shaw, co-founder of Lower Merion School District Jewish Families Association, said the group wants to work with the district to improve how children are treated by their fellow students and staff. She’s also a member of an umbrella group, JAFFAK-12.

Parents started the JFA after antisemitism in Lower Merion schools increased in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel, Shaw said. Parents with students in all the schools are involved and compile reports of antisemitic incidents, like “Free Palestine” written on the walls in students’ bathrooms, verbal slurs, bullying, physical assaults, and issues with the curriculum, she said.

They made some strides with former Superintendent Steven Yanni. Since he left, progress has slowed, but she is hopeful the new superintendent will work with them to address problems after he begins in April. They’re also helping parents from other Delaware Valley school districts, including Wissahickon and Upper Dublin, address antisemitism.

Panelists Steve Rosenberg a consultant with GSD and the former interim CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, discussed Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) with Brandy Shufutinsky director of education and community engagement with the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values (JILV).

Shufutinsky said the “celebration” of the Oct. 7 massacre on campuses awakened people to antisemitism, which was already “trending up.”

In the curriculum of many districts “well-intentioned” programs like Critical Race Theory (CRT) and DEI  have had “unintended consequences.”

And when people question or complain, school officials call them racist, which silences them.

“Nobody wants to be called racist,” said Shufutinsky. “So, how do you get to have a conversation?”

Rosenberg and others with JILV met with Yanni, Interim Assistant Superintendent Scott Weinstein and school board President Kerry Sautner in November to discuss antisemitism in Lower Merion.

“There were some things they didn’t want hear,” he said. “But they’re going to continue to hear from us.”

Shufutinsky said JILV helps parents craft questions for their school board and explains how to “stay on message.”

“You have to know what’s going on,” she said. “You have to be a voice for change…You can’t be silenced when you’re called racist.”

Rosenberg said the media has focused on antisemitism at colleges and universities; but by the time kids get there, it’s too late. “We have to get them in the K-12 space.”

Lori Lowenthal-Marcus, a lawyer with The Deborah Project, which fights antisemitism and brings lawsuits to protect Jewish students’ civil rights, also spoke.

They had been battling antisemitism on university campuses but then began to pay attention to “the worms growing in K-12 schools.”

“Antisemitism is just as serious as any other discrimination,” she said.

In one California district, a world history teacher blamed Israel for the Oct. 7 terror attack and the conflict that ensued using “lots of incorrect information.”

“This is a world history teacher talking to 10th grade students who are listening to the person in front of the room tell them the Jewish state, the Jewish people, are evil, bad,” said Lowenthal-Marcus. And “deserve what they get.”

A math teacher in that district asked a student if they were Jewish and said he could tell “because of their nose,” said Lowenthal-Marcus. A principal lied about swastikas drawn in front of her school building, saying they were Japanese anime. And a substitute teacher told students jokes about the Holocaust.

“All of these incidents were reported to the authorities,” she said. A parent tried to see the curriculum the history teacher was using about the Israeli-Hamas conflict but was rebuffed, she said. “It is the right of parents to see the curriculum.”

“Antisemitism is just as important as any other kind of discrimination and you’re protected by the same laws,” she said.  “We’re entitled to the same civil rights as everyone else.”

Amy Buckman, a spokeswoman for the Lower Merion School District, said, “Lower Merion District Policy 235 prioritizes fostering “inclusive environments within its schools through understanding, respect, and celebration of diversity and the ways in which that positively impacts the sense of belonging for all students.”

It also prohibits “Any form of bullying, hazing, or discriminatory harassment” and ensures that “appropriate corrective and preventative action shall be taken when allegations of bullying, hazing, or discriminatory harassment are substantiated.”

I have a small Halloween Tree on my desk that my mother made over 20 years ago.  I pull it out every October 1, mostly because it reminds me of Lucy, but also because it’s a festive note in an otherwise dour professional office. Tiny goblins, witches, ghosts, and ghouls hang from its branches, and it’s been a useful distraction for little kids who are bored out of their October gourds sitting on their parent’s laps as we discuss immigration options.

Halloween is, after all, about the kids. It’s true that adults have hijacked the holiday with their sexy zombie costumes and their spiked beverages (bobbing for apples can lead to serious bobbing and weaving as parties progress,) the 31st of October will always be a time for childhood wonder.

At least, that’s how I grew up. Today, sadly, there are adults who want to ruin that wonder, and some of them live right here in Lower Merion. The school district recently announced it was canceling the Halloween parade this year, out of concern for those who “don’t celebrate.” They also mentioned that they were worried about the safety of kids. But that’s an old trope that’s been around since I was 5 over a half-century ago and we were told not to bite into that Hershey Bar without first checking for razors.

No, the real reason that Lower Merion has decided to destroy the happiness of countless elementary school children is that they want to promote “inclusivity.” According to an email sent to parents, they were worried about offending students who don’t participate in Halloween because of the dreaded “religious reasons.”

I’m trying to figure out what those might be. There are some Christian sects that seem to believe dressing up as ghosts and witches and begging for candy is akin to some satanic ritual, but they are few and far between. Frankly, there are a lot of things that are much more satanic than cute little kids trotting around politely asking for treats. Politicians canvassing for votes come to mind. So do those Fetterman signs on Delco lawns. But I digress.

Amy Buckman, who used to be with Channel 6 and is now the director of Lower Merion’s school and community relations, insists that there’s nothing nefarious about the move and that the district is truly concerned with the safety of the kids, noting that “just the thought of having an entire school population of young children in a field surrounded by adults that we couldn’t possibly screen was worrisome.” I’m wondering why, after decades, this is the year that they decided to squeeze the last drop of joy out of a treasured holiday, decades after the first missing child appeared on a milk carton. What makes today that much more dangerous for a little tot than yesterday?

The question answers itself. Adults have become overly cautious, overly triggered, and overly concerned with control. They monitor every move of their tots as if they were General Eisenhower and the kids were about to storm the beaches of Normandy. And they want to impose that iron-fisted control on other people’s children as well.

Add in the additional, rather suspicious concern about religious freedom and you know that this is all of a piece to train our kids to be afraid, timid, and apprehensive of offending others in this pristine society of pure tolerance. I find it rather laughable that we have a school district worrying about the religious concerns of some parents even while school districts across the country are punishing people for not using the correct pronouns, even when this violates someone else’s religious beliefs.

Eliminating this holiday parade is much scarier, in my opinion, than anything a child might encounter on a dark and chilly October evening.

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Opponents of the Lower Merion School District’s plan to locate new athletics fields in the heart of their neighborhood voiced their concerns and called on the school district and township to find a suitable alternative location. They say it would result in increased pollution, safety problems, traffic congestion, and the destruction of nearly 500 historic trees and 13 acres of critical woodland habitat in a generations-old canopy shared with Stoneleigh.

The neighborhood gathering that would have preceded Lower Merion Zoning Hearing Board’s scheduled Oct. 14 meeting, however it was but the zoning hearing was postponed and a new date has not yet been set. Multiple appeals were filed by residents who oppose the district’s plans for the new athletic field.

To date, 2,179 people have signed a petition calling on township officials and the school district to work together to explore other options and avoid the parcel’s complete deforestation, including clearcutting the vast areas of mature trees.

When neighbors and other supporters of the public gardens at Stoneleigh in 2018 successfully blocked the Lower Merion School District from seizing its land and taking part of the property for its then-proposed new middle school’s playing fields, the district looked at other sites. Eventually, it settled on land (1800 W. Montgomery Avenue and 1835 County Line Road), which include a forest and wildlife habitat. There are nearly 500 historic trees on the site near Stoneridge, Clairemont, and adjoining streets in the Rosemont-Villanova section of the township, the opponents contend.

Lower Merion School District residents sounded off on the ongoing issue and how it would impact their community.

“The issue with this proposal by LMSD is multi-faceted and unfortunately severely impacts the community it supposedly serves,” said Andrew Abramson, a Lower Merion resident. “The biggest impact to those of us who live in the immediate neighborhood is safety. But unfortunately, safety is being thrown out the window, and for those of us who have followed the process we just don’t understand why.”

“First, there is the safety of the children in an unsecured field. LMSD touts how safe the new school will be with high walls, security lights, cameras, and more,” Abramson continued. “It feels like they are pushing an agenda that in no way serves our community when there are a lot of better options.”

Another resident agreed.

“The LMSD was well aware of the limitations of that purchase and the challenges of making that property viable, with only one field and a few tennis courts, fitting into the unusual configuration,” Ann Gelfond said. “Their seizing of the County Line property for fields has many issues as well.”

“Both the school and proposed fields will impact the entire neighborhood, as well as our neighbors across Montgomery Avenue, with additional cars as both locations have minimal parking,” Gelfond said.

“The Lower Merion Board of School Directors and Administration strongly believe that every child in our district deserves the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities that will enhance their social/emotional growth and connection to their school community,” said Amy Buckman, a spokeswoman for the district. “For many of our students, participation in athletics supports these goals.

“That is why in December 2018, the district paid more than $12.9 million for the contiguous properties at 1800 W. Montgomery Avenue and 1835 County Line Road, which had both been offered for sale by their owners,” she said. “Since then, the district has invested significant capital in designing the project and going through the land development process, including a successful appeal of the township’s conditions of approval. The additional fields also support the township’s comprehensive plan, which noted the need for more playing fields in the community.

“Prior to finalizing the field location, the district looked at numerous other sites that ended up not working out,” Buckman added. “These included properties on Spring Mill Road, which contained protected wetlands; the area of Stoneleigh that’s currently being used for composting, the acquisition of which was blocked; Ashbridge Park, the acquisition of which was also blocked; and other sites that were deemed unsuitable for a variety of reasons, including topography, amount of acreage and distance from the school.

“While LMSD understands that some neighbors are concerned about having athletic fields for children near their homes, we believe that providing ample opportunities for children from our community to practice, play, compete and learn serves a greater good,” she said.