Swastikas Found Drawn On Desks At 3 Montgomery County Schools, Students Disciplined

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — Staff members at three schools in Montgomery County, including a middle school in Kensington, found swastikas drawn on student desks, according to school officials.

Along with the swastikas found at the schools, Montgomery County Police are investigating flyers distributed in Kensington Saturday night targeting Jewish families.

The latest incidents come after neighborhoods and schools in Montgomery County experienced several cases of anti-Semitism in 2022.

Last month, for example, the words “Jews Not Welcome” were found defacing the school sign at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda. On Monday, Jewish groups in the Washington, D.C., area offered a reward for information that leads to the arrest of the person responsible for the anti-Semitic graffiti at the high school and on the Bethesda Trolley Trail in November.

On Saturday, Montgomery County Public Schools reported three incidents that occurred last week when swastikas were drawn into desks. In each case, students and the staff addressed the "vile impact of the hateful images, worked to immediately remove the drawings, and in each case, appropriate discipline in alignment with the MCPS Student Code of Conduct was assigned," the school system said.

"More important than disciplinary action, however, is what we do in response," MCPS said. "As we fight these repeated acts of hate, we must challenge one another to learn and understand what antisemitism, hatred, and racism are and the harm they cause."

READ ALSO: Anti-Semitic Graffiti Found At Walt Whitman High School In Bethesda

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said in a statement Sunday that he was glad to see that the incidents at the schools were quickly resolved.

"But the quick resolution does not heal the pain that these schools are dealing with," he said.

The three schools were not identified by MCPS in its statement. But a letter sent home to families of Silver Creek Middle School in Kensington noted that the one of the incidents happened at that school on Thursday, Fox 5 reported Sunday.

“I am writing to inform you that a drawing of a swastika was found on a desk in one of the classrooms,” the school’s principal said in the letter. "This was brought to the attention of the administration yesterday. Once the teacher shared this with security, it was quickly removed."

Students who engage in this type of behavior will be given appropriate disciplinary actions aligned with the MCPS student code of conduct, the principal said.

“Although this behavior is not reflective of our students at Silver Creek, it serves as an opportunity to reiterate the importance of respect for each other by creating a school community of care,” the principal said.

On Sunday, the Montgomery County Council issued its own statement on the drawings.

"The Council stands in solidarity with our Jewish community, and with our MCPS students and families," the council said. "We share the values embraced by our schools, school leaders, and Board of Education members, which include zero tolerance for hate and dangerous displays of religious bigotry."

As for the flyers distributed in Kensington Saturday night, Elrich said police are investigating the incident and the county intends to prosecute any hate crime to the fullest extent of the law.

On Monday, Ron Haber, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, and Gil Preuss, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, said that each organization had jointly funded a reward totaling $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for the Walt Whitman High School graffiti and anti-Semitic graffiti discovered on Nov. 14 on the Bethesda Trolley Trail.

Anyone with information about the graffiti is asked to call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477), or visit the website at www.crimesolversmcmd.org and click on the link “www.p3tips.com” to submit a tip anonymously. The reward offered by the Jewish organizations expires on July 21.

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