EXCLUSIVE: Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s office has called for the School District of Philadelphia to urgently tackle the escalating issue of antisemitism within its educational environment.
Concerns about an apparent rise in anti-Jewish sentiment in Philadelphia’s school district, which ranks as the eighth largest in the United States, have prompted a congressional inquiry. This investigation is scrutinizing the alleged presence of animosity towards Jews and Israel in the district’s schools, located in the city famously dubbed the City of Brotherly Love.
Rosie Lapowsky, a representative for Governor Shapiro, conveyed to Fox News Digital that “Governor Shapiro is unwavering in his stance against antisemitism. He has consistently condemned such hate-filled rhetoric, deeming it unacceptable, particularly in Pennsylvania’s educational institutions. The Governor has emphasized that this is a critical issue requiring the district’s immediate attention.”
Protests against the conflict in Gaza took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 25, 2024. (Matthew Hatcher/AFP via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital engaged with parents and educators from the School District of Philadelphia, compiling their insights alongside a November notice from the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, which is investigating antisemitism within Philadelphia’s public schools, and relayed this information to the governor’s office.
The letter from the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, acquired by Fox News Digital, outlines the investigation’s focus on determining whether Jewish K-12 students have faced a hostile educational environment.
The congressional letter stated, “The Committee is deeply concerned that SDP is failing to uphold its obligations under Title VI. Since October 7, 2023, the Committee has received allegations that SDP is rife with antisemitic incidents, including allegations of teachers spreading antisemitism in the classroom and SDP approving antisemitic walkouts that isolate Jewish students.”
The letter continued that “Because of these alleged failures, SDP entered into a federally mandated corrective action plan with the U.S. Department of Education in December 2024: however, according to press and whistleblower reports, antisemitic incidents have continued to proliferate since the plan.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks at the Celebration of Freedom Ceremony during Wawa Welcome America on July 04, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images)
Fox News Digital obtained messages and a document from a private Signal phone messaging group for Philadelphia Educators for Palestine. The group formulated a “Grounding Commitments” document that defends all Palestinian “resistance.” Critics say much of Palestinian resistance includes violence and also terrorism.
According to the Philadelphia Educators for Palestine, “All resistance is righteous. We reject any false equivalence between the violent systems that oppress us and our responses to them.”
Signal text messages stated the anti-Israel group has recruited school children to advance their anti-Jewish state agenda. According to district policy, educators should not be communicating with students on social media platforms. “In order to maintain a professional and appropriate relationship with students, District employees should not communicate with students who are currently enrolled in District schools on personal social media sites,” states SDP policy.
Fox News Digital reached out to Philadelphia Educators for Palestine for a comment.
Mika Hackner, director of research at the North American Values Institute, told Fox News Digital, “This is a shocking example of public school teachers knowingly misusing their position, and going against their own district’s policies, to encourage political activism in their students. Inviting high schoolers into a private Signal chat and involving them in discussions and events which promote political violence is just beyond the pale. The School District of Philadelphia must take appropriate action.”
Multiple Jewish parents and teachers spoke to Fox News Digital on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution from anti-Israel teachers and the School District of Philadelphia.
One Jewish parent said, “There are teachers and administrators who are perpetuating Jew-hate,” adding that “[Ismael] Jimenez uses his public social media to create Jew-hate.” Ismael Jimenez is the director of social studies curriculum for the SDP.
Sunrise light hits the U.S. Capitol dome on Thursday, January 2, 2025, as the 119th Congress is set to begin Friday. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The congressional letter also references Jimenez as an SPD senior administrator who “has been widely condemned by Jewish advocacy groups in light of his ‘pattern of denying the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel, refusing to speak about peace or coexistence, and downplaying the lived experiences of Jewish people in the face of violence. In a recent example, after the murder of two Israeli embassy workers and the antisemitic firebombing attack in Colorado, the senior administrator wrote, ‘The groups who align themselves with American savageness should not be surprised when the savageness is turned on you.”
According to the congressional letter, “Today, SDP employs numerous educators who allegedly promote antisemitic content in their classrooms. One such teacher has allegedly threatened Jewish parents and students online. She and other Philadelphia educators also allegedly use lessons from an effort called Teaching Palestine, whose class materials rationalize terrorist violence and advocate for the destruction of Israel.”
The congressional letter highlights the actions of the teachers and the administrator. One who was allegedly “Threatening Jewish parents and students” was identified as Kaziah Ridgeway. Other teachers allegedly used lessons from “Teaching Palestine,” according to social media posts and the letter.
A Philadelphia school teacher told Fox News Digital that the prevailing situation in SDP is “being complacent and encouraging pro-Palestinian bias in the district. There is no prescription to counter antisemitism in school.”
Shelly Robinson, a Philadelphia school teacher who retired in 2021 and taught at Northeast High School, the largest high school in Pennsylvania, told Fox News Digital, that at one at multicultural fair, “there was a map on stage at school and there was no Israel.” Robinson, who graduated from Northeast and has deep contacts to the school, said a “Muslim student group started selling buttons stating ‘From the River to the Sea’ after Oct. 7. Things got really bad for Jewish teachers at Northeast after Oct. 7.”
The Anti Defamation League described the saying as “an antisemitic slogan commonly featured in anti-Israel campaigns and chanted at demonstrations.”
Memorials at the site of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack on the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im, Israel, on Monday, May 27, 2024. (Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, and slaughtered over 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans.
Robinson recalled a professional development trainer who told a student group called “No Place for Hate” that they “should stop promoting white heroes named Shakespeare and Einstein, and said we should promote refugees.”
When Robinson noted that the German physicist Albert Einstein was a refugee who fled Nazi Germany, the development specialist for teachers said, “But he was a Jew.” Robinson said, “I started to see what was going on in the school district and had been going on for 20 years.”
Jimenez and Ridgeway, who are also reportedly members of Philadelphia Educators for Palestine, declined to respond to Fox News Digital press queries.
While Shapiro readily called out the situation, other leaders in the state preferred to pass the buck.
Leah Uko, a spokesperson for Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, told Fox News Digital that “This is a matter with the School District of Philadelphia, not City government. We have no comment.”
A spokesperson for Dr. Tony Watlington, superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, told Fox News Digital that “It is the policy of the School District of Philadelphia to refrain from commenting on active investigations.”
