High school students form ‘human swastika’ on California school grounds; the matter is under investigation

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The message declared that “international financial Jews” were behind the world wars and mentioned “the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe.” Although the content was later deleted, it was recorded by another student and forwarded to parents and family, as NBC Bay Area reports.

Members of the school community expressed shock and fear. In a statement to NBC Bay Area, Maya Bronicki of the Bay Area Jewish Coalition said there was “clear intentionality” in the act. Jewish students interviewed by local media said they were frightened when they realized their classmates might share or support ideas associated with Nazism. One mother, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, told the Jewish News of Northern California that she feared for her son’s safety inside the school.

The episode also provoked reactions from the authorities. State Sen. Dave Cortese called the case “deeply disturbing” and said there is no place for anti-Semitism or any form of intolerance in schools. Senator Scott Wiener, in a post on Twitter this Sunday (7), questioned why students would consider it acceptable to associate a swastika with speeches about the extermination of Jews, saying that anti-Semitism is “widespread and growing.”

The school’s principal, Beth Silbergeld, condemned the act and told the Los Angeles Times that it was a “troubling and unacceptable” episode. The institution opened an investigation following an anonymous tip, referred the matter to the San Jose police and has already identified the students involved, although the names and possible sanctions are not disclosed as required by federal law.