Anti-Semitic Posting Discovered on 'Great Neck South Freshman Facebook Page'

Great Neck School officials say they quickly addressed “a reprehensible and clearly anti-Semitic Facebook posting” on a class Facebook page that is not administered or sponsored by the district.

“The photo, depicting two Jewish students, was changed to add a small mustache, a red armband with a swastika, and the words “I’D RATHER BE GASSING JEWS RIGHT NOW” over one of the student’s heads,” the Anti-Defamation League said, in a press release.

The district first became aware of the posting on the “Great Neck South Freshman Facebook Page” Sunday afternoon, after a officials were informed by parent who had learned about it.

“Early Monday morning, we determined the name of the individual who made this posting and determined that this individual is not a student in our schools,” district officials said in a letter to the community. “Additionally, the posting was taken down and is no longer on this social media page.”

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School officials said they notified police about the posting as well as the student’s school.

The district did not release the name of the student who posted the comment, or the school the student attends.

The posting has caused an uproar in the community.

“I’m the child of two Holocaust survivors. And this is disgusting,” Alan Mindel told The Observer.

The father of a Great Neck South freshman, Mindel owns Inn at Great Neck, and also serves on the board of directors of the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County in Glen Cove.

“Now that this came out, the kids have mentioned previous incidents,” he added. “They never mentioned it, but now this post has made them bring up others. I think a lot is going to come out this week.”

Officials say they have launched a discussion about “a pair of evils, one minor and one major.”

The minor evil pertains to posting anonymously without awareness of the damage this activity can cause.

The major evil is the presence of anti-Semitism and other forms of racism that the district says will not be tolerated.

“The school district will continue to use education as its means to eliminate these hateful statements, and we will re-double our efforts by planning a program for students and their parents to discuss this issue and do our part to end this hate and foster greater understanding.”

ADL officials say they have maintained close contact with the Great Neck School District, and say the district is taking the correct steps.

“We were alarmed to see this outrageous, anti-Semitic image and we are pleased the school is taking this troubling incident seriously,” said Evan R. Bernstein, ADL New York regional director. “Our hope is that the high school’s administrators will take tangible steps to confront the situation, and we stand ready to offer our assistance and resources to Great Neck South so that its students will never have to be subjected to anti-Semitic harassment or any type of bullying online or in the classroom.”

ADL officials say its Cyber-Safety Action Guide offers an outlet where social media users can learn how and where to report bigoted, bullying or hateful speech.

In Great Neck, a student agreed that the district’s response is appropriate.

“He’s just a kid,” Daniel Daskal told NBC New York. “He got this information probably from his parents or someone else that he knows. He’s obviously not taught the right things. He should be educated on what exactly did happen and what it is he is saying.”

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