A New York City public school teacher has allegedly been identified as one of the protesters who disrupted a Manhattan vigil commemorating those killed in the October 7 attack in Israel.
Mia Kurzer, a special education teacher at The Heritage School in East Harlem, was reportedly among demonstrators who displayed flags associated with Hamas and Hezbollah and chanted slogans including “globalize the intifada,” according to The New York Post.
After Kurzer appeared in video from last week’s gathering in Union Square, Jewish activist and educator Moshe Spern filed a complaint alleging that her participation contributed to a hostile environment for Jewish students and staff at her school.
Spern called for an investigation in a complaint submitted October 8 to the New York City Department of Education and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels.
In the complaint, Spern alleged that pro-Palestinian demonstrators overwhelmed an October 7 vigil organized by Israelis for Peace, preventing mourners from hearing the names of those killed and occupying seats reserved for attendees, including Comptroller Brad Lander and Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
According to the filing, video from the Union Square event showed Kurzer sitting in one of the occupied seats as mourners were shouted down. Spern also alleged that protesters chanted “globalize the intifada” and praised the attackers.
“She was comfortable sitting among the Hamas flags and Hamas chants,” Spern told The Post.
The Union Square gathering marked the third anniversary of the Hamas-led October 7 attack, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were taken to Gaza.
Mia Kurzer, shown in a red top in video from the event, was allegedly occupying seats with other protesters while mourners were shouted down
Kurzer, pictured in rainbow knitwear for her professional headshot, wore a keffiyeh during the protest, according to the outlet
Moshe Spern, a Jewish activist and educator, said Kurzer was “comfortable sitting among the Hamas flags and Hamas chants” and urged an investigation into whether her conduct created a hostile environment for Jewish students and faculty
Spern said Kurzer wore a keffiyeh at the protest, contrasting it with a professional photograph in which she appears in rainbow-colored knitwear.
“That choice made staff and students uncomfortable and signaled political activism inside a New York City public school,” he wrote in the complaint.
Spern also claimed that the Education Department had previously failed to act on a complaint concerning Kurzer’s alleged participation in demonstrations outside Manhattan’s Park East Synagogue.
“A year ago I notified you that Ms. Kurzer participated in both protests outside Park East Synagogue on November 19, 2025, and May 2026, at which demonstrators chanted ‘intifada revolution,’ ‘globalize the intifada,’ and ‘death to the IDF,’ while Jewish congregants were obstructed from entering their house of worship,” Spern previously told the chancellor.
The activist argued that Kurzer’s alleged conduct reflected antagonism toward Israel and Jewish people.
“Those demonstrations were widely condemned, including by Governor Hochul, as intimidation of Jewish New Yorkers at a synagogue led by a Holocaust survivor,” he said.
Spern said the alleged synagogue protests, an unanswered referral to the Office of Equal Opportunity & Diversity Management and Kurzer’s wearing of a keffiyeh at school together pointed to more than an “isolated incident.”
“It is a continuing course of conduct by a DOE employee that creates a hostile environment for Jewish students and staff and is incompatible with the Department’s obligations under Chancellor’s Regulation A-830, A-421, and Title VI,” Spern wrote in the complaint.
Spern said Kurzer’s alleged actions reflected a pattern of hostility toward Israel and Jewish people rather than an “isolated incident”
Kurzer had earlier appeared in an interview with CNN where she talked about her participation in anti-Israel protests at the University of Wisconsin in 2024
Spern asked the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management to look into the matter or forward the case to the Special Commissioner on Schools Investigation, the outlet reported.
The Jewish educator added: ‘Jewish students and staff are entitled to a school that does not employ someone who joins mobs outside synagogues and then marks October 7 with a political symbol in the building.’
Kurzer had been active as an anti-Israel protester since her college days. In 2024, she gave an interview to CNN where she talked about her participation in anti-Israel protests at the University of Wisconsin.
‘People have said I am not a real Jew because I am doing this. People say things like “Everything you are doing is illegal. I am taking evidence. It is a public place.” It is a public place but we are just asking people to have kind manners,’ Kurzer said in the interview.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Kurzer, The Heritage School and Chancellor Kamar Samuels for comments. Kurzer gave no comment when approached by The Post.
