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Antisemitism from apps & into the class
Brooklyn high schoolers who spewed antisemitic, Hitler-loving hate toward Jewish teachers and classmates are being radicalized by disturbing social media content and their own families, students told The Post.
The kids’ observations come a week after The Post revealed horrifying antisemitism at Origins HS in Sheepshead Bay, where students told a Jewish teacher they wished she was killed and video captured a teen with a Hitler mustache making a Nazi salute.
“It definitely comes from social media . . . it’s just one-sided perspectives,” said an Origins freshman.
Racist rhetoric is common in the hallways and all over teens’ social-media feeds, with students pushing hate anonymously on burner accounts, according to two sophomores at a charter school that’s also in the building.
“There was a video on Instagram that was going viral — it was a group of Jewish boys in a park and [another] group of boys were doing Nazi things while the Jewish kids were trying to play basketball,” said one of the sophomores. “It’s horrible.”
‘We’re a melting pot’
Origins students — 40% of whom are Muslim and many come from Middle Eastern families — may also be channeling antisemitism or anti-Israel sentiment fostered in their homes, classmates suggested.
“At Origins, we’re a melting pot of kids from all different backgrounds and religions, so I think a lot of those biases and things start in the home when we’re younger — they’re like inherent biases,” said a 17-yearold Muslim senior.
The city’s Department of Education has allowed antisemitism to persist — and metastasize — by not combating the “Jew-hating narratives” teens are absorbing, said Michelle Ahdoot, director of programming and strategy for the advocacy group End Jew Hatred.
The Origins administration has repeatedly downplayed the severity of students’ actions. Four incident reports reviewed by The Post, including harassment of two Jewish teachers and the Hitler mustache display, were deemed not bias-related.
If categorized as bias-motivated — a more serious infraction — the superintendent and NYPD would be notified, and the students could have faced suspension. Instead, the students received a slap on the wrist and had their parents notified.
Days before The Post’s frontpage exposé, Origins’ interim principal Dara Kammerman allowed students to speak at an assembly to promote a Brooklyn rally to “honor the martyrs” of Palestine, in addition to sharing flyers for the event.
One flyer landed on the desk of Origins global history teacher Danielle Kaminsky — who is Jewish and has complained of ongoing torment by a group of students. A scribbled note on the flyer read “Fuck Isreal [sic] n---a.”
DOE rep Nathaniel Styer insisted the city’s schools do not allow for any hate or bias.
“Our principals are listening, and the principal at Origins High School has a record of addressing complaints head on,” he said.