FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Parents and community members in Fairfax County held a rally outside the school administration building Friday to protest against antisemitism and how officials handled a recent incident.
The group gathered in response to an antisemitic photo taken at Langley High School in McLean last week. Parents say students drew an American flag and replaced the stars with swastikas. The students also wrote “Free Palestine,” according to a picture circulated on social media.
Langley High School parents claim the student who snapped and shared the photo was suspended.
“What really has upset me about this is the only way they can prove something is to take a picture, but then the student got suspended for taking [it],” Langley High School parent Stefanie Bloom told WUSA9. “There’s a history of trying to silence or not allowing these images to come to fruition to show that we have a problem here.”
In a message to the community, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid said school leadership was unaware of the antisemitic image until it was shared on social media.
A spokesperson said due to privacy, the district can’t comment on individual students but that “students involved were disciplined in accordance with our Student Rights and Responsibilities.”
Dr. Reid stressed that no student at the high school was suspended for reporting an incident of antisemitism to school administrators.
“We stand resolute in our commitment to ensure that Fairfax County Public Schools value all students' identities, that we give students space to express themselves in a way that does not cause harm to others, and that we will continue to denounce all acts of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and hatred in any form,” Reid said.
Community members said while the school district can make that claim, there are likely other rules on the student handbook they implemented.
“We want them to be able to recognize what is antisemitic and anti-Jewish in the first place,” Eric Rozenman of United Against Antisemitism told WUSA9. “Take it just as seriously as they would take something that was anti-Black, anti-gay or anti-Muslim. This is thing they're not doing; they can't recognize it or don't want to act.”
Demonstrators accuse the school district of failing to properly respond to antisemitic incidents for years. The issue has grown since the Israel-Hamas war, according to Jewish organizations.
Prior to the war, the Anti-Defamation League reports the number of antisemitic incidents in Virginia in 2022 jumped by 50% from the previous year.
FCPS is still facing a Title VI complaint filed in 2022 by Zionist Organization of America over antisemitism cases in schools.
An FCPS spokesperson adds, “Fairfax County Public Schools respect the rights of all students, staff, and community members to exercise their right to freedom of speech. A student’s right to freedom of expression is guided by our FCPS Student Rights and Responsibilities. In our schools, we continue to coordinate with student groups who reach out with their desire to engage in peaceful walkouts.”