Montgomery County Facing Rise In Antisemitic Messages, Graffiti At Schools

ROCKVILLE, MD — An antisemitic message was found on the desk of a student at another school in Montgomery County, as the county is already addressing incidents of antisemitism at other area schools.

Officials are investigating the message, found on a student's desk at Magruder High School in Rockville. The principal at Magruder said the writing on the desk was a “very serious racially insensitive incident,” Bethesda Beat reported.

“Given the seriousness of this incident and heightened concerns around racial insensitivity and antisemitism, we seek parent support and involvement in speaking with your children in our efforts to eliminate this hateful and harmful behavior,” the principal wrote in a message to parents last Wednesday.

As part of the investigation into the incident at Magruder, officials are hoping to get more information from students at the school.

Swastikas were also found on student desks at three separate schools earlier in the month, according to Montgomery County Public Schools.

READ ALSO: Swastikas Drawn By Students Found At 3 Montgomery County Schools

Montgomery County Councilmember Dawn Luedtke, who represents the part of the county where Magruder is located, said in a Facebook message that she was "angered to learn of yet another antisemitic incident at one of our schools, said in a Facebook message that she was "angered to learn of yet another antisemitic incident at one of our schools."

"We're going to do everything in our power to ensure the County and MCPS are using all available tools and means of community outreach and education to prevent this unacceptable hate," Luedtke wrote.

In December, a sign at Walt Whitman High School was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti. In November, antisemitic graffiti was found along the Bethesda Trolley Trail.

A $5,000 reward is being offered for information about those two incidents by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington and the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.

Two weeks ago, staff members at three schools in Montgomery County found swastikas drawn on student desks.

"These specific three instances are not the first this year in which the Jewish community in our county and our schools have experienced acts of antisemitic hate or bias," Montgomery County Public Schools said in a Jan. 21 statement. "We must do more, and we will. In collaboration with advocates such as the Jewish Community Relations Council, we will continue our efforts to educate our students about antisemitism."

In those three cases,"appropriate discipline in alignment with the MCPS Student Code of Conduct was assigned" to the students responsible for the writings on the desks, the school system said.

The swastikas were found drawn on desks at Thomas S. Wootton High School and Tilden Middle School in Rockville, and Silver Creek Middle School in Kensington, Bethesda Beat reported.

"We cannot allow schools to become places of fear," the Montgomery County Council said in a statement last week. "We must continue to forcibly speak out against hate and religious bigotry in all forms and continue to educate our youth about the values of inclusivity, diversity and acceptance that we embrace here in Montgomery County."

On Jan. 22, antisemitic flyers were found on the porches of several Kensington residents. The Anti-Defamation League said it believes a hate group called the Goyim Defense League was responsible for the flyers, according to Bethesda Beat.

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