L/A
An “equity and justice” conference involving many of the country’s most prestigious private schools devolved into a “festival of Jew hate” that had scared students leaving in tears, according to outraged parents and attendees.
Speakers at last week’s National Association of Independent Schools’ annual People of Color Conference accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide” and downplayed the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that killed 1,200 Israeli civilians — prompting some frightened kids to hide their Jewish stars as they left early.
“There was an overwhelming feeling that we were not welcome,” one Jewish senior from the Milken Community School in Los Angeles told The Post.
One of the conference speakers was Dr. Suzanne Barakat, a physician and activist on issues of Islamophobia and social justice. Our Three Winners
“We felt small and insignificant,” said the student, who asked for anonymity out of fear of retribution.
The NAIS — an organization of 1,300 independent schools that includes Manhattan’s Tony Dalton, Brearley, Collegiate, Trinity, Fieldston, and the Riverdale Country School — held the professional development and networking event Dec. 4-7 in Colorado along with its Student Diversity Leadership Conference. Approximately 8,000 students and adults attended.
Among the New York prep schools in attendance were the Brooklyn Friends School, Dalton and Horace Mann. A complete list of attendees was not immediately available.
NYC parents fumed because they were given assurances Jewish students would be welcomed, but called the conference a “festival of hate” pushed by the “woke” NAIS.
“It’s all indoctrination for them to bring back to the school,” said one NYC private school mom, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“There’s no transparency. I don’t know if one of my daughter’s teachers were there … I want to know that the teachers and students that went are now going to be un-indoctrinated.”
On the second day, Dr. Suzanne Barakat, a physician and activist, claimed Israel was “founded on ethnocentric superiority and an inherently systemically racist framework,” according to transcripts obtained by The Post.
The Mideast conflict, she said, stemmed from a “strain” of Zionism created when Jews fled nationalism in Europe in the 1800s. Critics said she made support of the Jewish state sound like a disease.
“They began immigrating to Palestine as colonists,” Barakat said, calling it “ethnic cleansing.”
Barakat cited the far-left group Jewish Voice for Peace and recommended a book by controversial author Ta-Nehisi Coates, who once said he didn’t know if he would have been “strong enough’’ to not join the Oct. 7 massacre.
“To suggest that Israel is committing genocide, that this current conflict is the most documented genocide in modern history — which smacks of Holocaust denial — was like being punched in the gut,” said Sirida Graham Terk, a teacher and diversity and inclusion coordinator at Milken who attended.
“There was no mention of the indigeneity of the Jewish people,” she added. “The only mention of Hamas was that they led an ‘unprecedented assault.'”
In an email to school leaders the day after the speech, NAIS president Debra Wilson said Barakat’s remarks about the war were “unprompted and unexpected.”
“While some attendees shared the speaker’s perspective and felt both seen and heard, others were deeply hurt and outraged,” Wilson added.
Critics said the apology was also insulting.
“Nobody could even bring themselves to say the word ‘antisemitism’ in the acknowledgement,” said Sarah Shulkind, Milken’s head of school.
“Most horrifying is that the thousands of educators that were in that room teach at the nation’s most elite schools . . . they stood and cheered,” Shulkind added. “It reveals to me two things: virulent, unapologetic Jew hate, and profound ignorance.”
The rhetoric continued despite the apology.
On the last day of the conference, Princeton Professor Ruha Benjamin donned Palestinian colors and earrings showcasing watermelons, a symbol of Palestinian solidarity, as she addressed students and educators.
Benjamin has vocally supported the anti-Israel BDS movement — leading a protest for it that reportedly ended in several of her students’ arrests — and was under investigation at Princeton for her activism.
At the end of her speech, she launched into a presentation of Gaza “before the genocide” and Israeli “oppression.”
“This immediately disturbed me, hearing her use such accusatory words and present them as fact to a crowd of thousands of people,” another Milken student said.
“As I began walking out, I noticed people looking at my star of David necklace,” he continued. “I no longer felt safe at a conference literally built for inclusion. I got out of the conference room as soon as I could and quickly noticed that almost all other Jewish students did as well.”
Jewish leaders sent a letter to the NAIS Wednesday demanding an apology and ensure speaker selection procedures that prevent “toxic rhetoric.”
In response to them, Wilson said all future presentations would be required to be submitted in full in advance and took the groups on their offer to serve as a resource, especially ahead of a conference in February.
“I write to express my profound remorse over the divisive and hurtful rhetoric expressed on stage at last week’s NAIS People of Color Conference in Denver,” Wilson wrote. “There is no place for antisemitism at NAIS events, in our member schools, or in society.”
Another Jewish private school mom said she has spent years trying to get people to pay attention to the NAIS.
“Finally, after this speech, parents are waking up and they are livid,” she said.
Concerns of Jewish families have long been dismissed, one former NAIS member school employee told The Post.
“Jewish mothers in particular were categorized as ‘crazy’ which meant overly involved and protective,” the former employee said.
“Jewish students were not seen or treated as a minority group … They were seen as white and rich and privileged and not deserving of protection against the antisemitic conduct of other students.”
Barakat and Benjamin did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Post.
