“It was meant to be a peaceful protest from the very beginning, but some of these students lack maturity,” said Muhammad Ghazali, the school’s senior class president.
An update on this story. “Officials defend students who targeted pro-Israel teacher at Queens high school,” by Luke Tress, JTA, November 30, 2023:
Students and city officials are pushing back against accusations of antisemitism at Hillcrest High School in Queens after a Jewish teacher was targeted in a protest.
Footage of the unruly protest, which took place on November 20, drew widespread criticism of the school and charges of antisemitism, including from the Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams.
But speaking at a press conference on Monday, David Banks, the school’s chancellor, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, and other student leaders rejected the charges.
“So many of the students who were running or jumping had no idea what was even going on. They were doing what 14 and 15-year-olds do,” Banks said. “The notion that this place is radical, that these kids are radicalized and antisemitic, is the height of irresponsibility.”
Banks said he had sought to understand what triggered the mayhem at the school in conversations with students, and found that social media played a central role in the school’s radical portrayal.
“Young people today, they’re not watching, with all due respect… NBC or ABC,” Banks said. “They consume their information through social media, specifically TikTok and others, and what they are seeing on a daily basis are children and young people in Palestine, Palestinian families being blown up.”
Resultantly, “they feel a kindred spirit with the folks in the Palestinian community,” Banks punctuated.
“When they all of a sudden saw this image of the teacher who says, ‘I stand with Israel,’ the students articulated to me that they took that as a message that [they are] affirming whatever is happening to the Palestinian family and community,” Banks noted.
Deputy Chancellor Dan Weisberg said at a City Hall press conference however that public perception of the incident was mistaken.
“It is unfair, the way aspersions have been cast and broad brush criticism has been made of students,” he said….
“It was meant to be a peaceful protest from the very beginning, but some of these students lack maturity,” Muhammad Ghazali, the school’s senior class president, noted. “These students have the right to go out there and protest. It’s just the way they protested that was wrong.”
Khadija Ahmed, a Hillcrest student, said: “the message that we really wanted to get out there was that we wanted Palestine to be free. But the message got lost, and lots of people were hurt, mentally.”
“Violence, hate and disorder have no place in our schools,” Banks stressed. “Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of bigotry are simply unacceptable.”…
John Allan says
‘“It was meant to be a peaceful protest from the very beginning, but some of these students lack maturity,” said Muhammad Ghazali, the school’s senior class president.’
Well, there’s nothing like working for your living, to instil maturity.
Return to school/college, when that maturity is evident … AND they’ve made a financial contribution to society, as well.
mgoldberg says
So, the class president says that ‘we just want Palestine to be free’. Well how about that.
Does he see any democratic nation ruled by muslims or arabs that let any jews be free? I know of one nation in the middle east that does… it’s called Israel. And arabs are free to be citizens and reach their potential. And… Abbas has said clearly that there will be no Jews in ‘Palestine’ if he gets it.
Got that …. so, the teacher was on the verge of being assaulted, and was without the freedom to speak or defend herself, which all the pro fakestinian demontrations partake of. One giant threatening ‘give it to us or else’, hoedown. And if it had been a muslim teacher so threatened by Jewish students you can bet that CAIR and the leftist lawyers and media would be arroused at the utter indecency and the lawsuits against the school and the students would definitely follow.
UrbanMole says
The System is now circling their wagons in favor and support of the Jihadis in whatever form they emerge. This time it was pro Hamas students at Hillcrest High School. Throw in a few of those students that are educated at a local Islamic Madrasa. And what System is that you may ask. These are cultural Marxists that now run and control NYC that will continue to rally in alliance with their like minded brethen that seek the same end result for NYC and its people…its ultimate destruction and doom. They are truly after both the faithful Christians and Jews. But its simply easier to fire up the malcontents and closet jihadis with jew hate.
Westman says
Antisemitism by those having no theologican base may be a litmus test of who, without a comprehensive knowledge of a situation, can be influenced into action.
Expressed another way, rootless youth who are easily influenced by propaganda and peers are the future army of revolutions, the kind that ruin nations with Marxism, or worse.
“So many of the students who were running or jumping had no idea what was even going on. They were doing what 14 and 15-year-olds do,…” – David Banks, the school’s chancellor. This is only partially true. The Muslim students who led this menacing had a religiously indoctrinated bias and led the other rootless students into action.
“Violence, hate and disorder have no place in our schools,” Banks stressed. “Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of bigotry are simply unacceptable.”
And will corrective measures be taken? Will the school teach students about the Holocaust in depth so they see the larger mirror of Hamas atrocities?
somehistory says
Excuse me, but just in the past few years, kids as young as five and six have been handcuffed and arrested at school for not being totally obedient to the teachers.
Kids with autism, adhd and other problems have been severely disciplined…some taken by police…because they were disruptive.
so, these “kids”…14 and 15…are ‘too young’ to know what they were doing? Threatening a teacher, rioting, “jumping and yelling.”
“people were hurt **mentally**…”
mozlum students…no surprise they are making all kinds of excuses for the illegal and violent behavior.
They didn’t intend “mental hurt” for the teacher. They intended more than that.
They were threatening just as their hamas *idols* do. What would have happened if she had not been able to hide?
Hoi Polloi says
“The notion that this place is radical, that these kids are radicalized and antisemitic, is the height of irresponsibility.”
You see, the only problem is that the actual video portrayed the actual violence of the students in a manner that you developed notions. The students have no responsibility for their behavior, the officials have no responsibility for the schools they’re paid to run, and students “expressing concern” violently and for only the pali consequences for pali actions is not antisemitic. It’s all you. Just don’t wrongthink. Problem solved.
somehistory says
Yes, they want us all to subject ourselves to “group think.” Because then they can tell us what to think, how to think, and when to think so that they don’t have to try to excuse their evil. It will save them so much time, they will have more time to practice violence on the innocent and vulnerable.
Hoi Polloi says
Tucker on Roseanne Barr’s podcast where they discuss just how much evil is moving:
https://rumble.com/v3yp15u-november-29-2023.html
James Lincoln says
Hoi Polloi,
Thanks for the link to the excellent podcast.
Hoi Polloi says
Yw.
Hoi Polloi says
Also, James, here’s another link in the diversity chain:
https://revolver.news/2023/11/diverse-group-of-navy-women-had-one-job-to-do-and-they-failed-miserably/
bagsgroove says
Kick the muslim students and their friends out of the school. They must be taught responsibility for their actions.
Joe says
Obviously, this so-called high school is a cesspool where students don’t attend to learn anything. Now that there appears to be plenty of Muslim students, and black students with an apparent absence of Asians or Whites, the school is a training ground for terrorists, and anti-White antisemitic racists. Queens once had excellent high schools but clearly the desire of the students to learn anything is absent. It is outrageous, and Nazi like, that a teacher was afraid to leave her office for hours because she feared for her safety. All the students should be expelled, the school chancellor should be fired, the Queens Born president should be impeached.
brenrod says
“All the students should be expelled, the school chancellor should be fired, the Queens Born president should be impeached.”
The teachers and leaders take no responsibility and so they encourage their students very sick behavior.
Left21 says
You know Banks and Richards totally support Hamas.
Tanya Notkoff says
This school needs to be shut down immediately, as Vickie Paladino has called for–Jewish students and faculty are NOT safe there! The school has allowed ignorance about Palestine and Israel flourish and thus has facilitated racism, Jew-hate. Considering Jews like my grandparents helped build up New York, I’m disgusted to see the complicity with Muslims who are destroying everything, and persecuting Jews! #IslamIsTheProblem is a hashtag that pops up–please make it Yuge!