Jewish parents: anyone having issues at school?

[PurpleThistle7]

For the second time in a year, my daughter has had an issue at school and I'm wondering if anyone has had any similar experiences or advice.

She's 11 and in high school. Last week a boy followed her down the hall yelling 'where are you from! Come on, tell everyone where you're from!' And when she tried to walk away he blocked her and backed her into a corner while yelling 'free Palestine'

She's fine thankfully but I'm shaken. She's the only Jewish child there (and my son is now the only Jewish child in the primary school).

The school has been super responsive and truly horrified but just wondering if anyone else has experienced anything similar.

Oh my gosh I'm so sorry to hear what she's been going through! None of that is even remotely ok.

I experienced very similar when I was that age so I know how hard it can be. At least your school seems to be taking it seriously, which is a good start!

I hope the boy has been suspended - absolutely thuggish, intimidating and blatantly anti-Semitic behaviour.

Edited to ask are you Israeli? In which case the school will presumably not be able to go down the anti-Semitism route as he'll claim it's to do with her nationality and not her religion. Still utterly unacceptable, disgraceful, thuggish and intimidating behaviour regardless.

(I'm by no means suggesting that if your daughter is Israeli she should have to put up with any of it! I'm just anticipating what their argument will be to avoid a harsher punishment - and I do think a punishment would be appropriate at that age, that just explaining to him why what he did is wrong isn't enough as he's old enough to know better)

That's absolutely disgusting. 10 is the age of criminal responsibility in the UK. If someone in the street did this to you, you'd call the police...

Sorry I shouldn't have said the UK...I think it varies. Certainly in England though

Yup. Every one of my dc, in our naice Home Counties town, has experienced anti-Semitic behaviour at secondary school over the last 10-15 years.

And when I posted about it here on MN, before we had a Jewish MNers section, I was accused of being a troll. Some posters refused to believe it had happened.

Nothing new under the sun. The oldest and most popular hatred.

I'm sorry - and angry - this has happened to your dd, PurpleThistle7. Although it's good that the school are responding, is the response sufficiently robust, is it effective, given that this is the second incident in 6m?

I found talking to the CST helpful cst.org.uk

I was actually born in Israel but grew up in the states. My kids have never been to Israel so wouldn't identify as such although they are technically citizens. It's definitely because she's Jewish.

It's frightening as my kids are the only Jewish children in the catchment so I worry!

It's the second incident but at two different schools as she just started high school. Two totally different situations and children involved so not an escalation thankfully.

The guidance teacher was horrified and immediately pulled the boy out of class and has been checking on my daughter every day since. I just worry about things like her walking back and forth to school and such. It's all so sad.

Yeah that's blatant anti-Semitism, so at least they can't attempt gaslighting you into thinking it isn't.

I'm really sorry, it must be so worrying for you. I wish I had advice :(

It’s so awful.
Unfortunately hearing of it all the time in NW london - even children as young as 8 doing nazi salutes.
Our local state primary is rated the highest in the LA and very oversubscribed, with typically 60-70% Jewish children because of the location.
This year’s reception class has 11 students and no Jewish children.
Because of the situation, everyone in our area has chosen to send their children to a Jewish primary school instead.

of course I realise this is not a solution … but just highlighting how awful it is.