In a contentious hearing held by the House of Representatives' education and workforce subcommittee, three prominent American school districts clashed with lawmakers over allegations of failing to address a surge in antisemitism. The hearing, which aimed to investigate the efforts made by authorities to protect Jewish staff and students amidst rising bigotry, focused on districts in New York City, Montgomery County in Maryland, and Berkeley in California.

Republican member Aaron Bean from Florida expressed his concerns, highlighting the disturbing nature of the reported 246 "very vile" antisemitic acts that have occurred in these districts since last October's attack by Hamas on Israel. Incidents included students chanting derogatory slogans, imitating Hitler, and Jewish children being targeted for discriminatory treatment.

The school districts vehemently denied tolerating antisemitism within their educational institutions. They maintained that they had taken a combination of disciplinary actions and educational measures to combat antisemitic behavior following the attack and subsequent Israeli military offensive in Gaza, which sparked demonstrations across university campuses and beyond.

However, there were conflicting responses from the districts when asked whether teachers had been fired due to actions deemed antisemitic. Complaints had been lodged against all three districts regarding their handling of post-attack allegations of antisemitism.

David Banks, chancellor of the New York City school system, engaged in a heated exchange over an incident at Hillcrest High School. Its principal had been removed following a protest against a pro-Israel teacher but was subsequently reassigned to an administrative role rather than being terminated. Republican representative Elise Stefanik, known for her pointed questioning in previous hearings, accused the school leaders of merely paying "lip service" to the issue.

In response, Banks argued that his district had indeed terminated individuals over antisemitism. Karla Silvestre, president of Montgomery County public schools in Maryland, stated that no teacher had been fired, leading Bean to question whether they were allowing hateful behavior to persist. Enikia Ford Morthel, superintendent of the Berkeley Unified school district in California, cited state and federal privacy laws as a barrier to providing details on disciplinary actions taken against staff and students.

The hearing also addressed the use of the slogan "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" and whether it was considered antisemitic. All three district heads agreed that the slogan was antisemitic, with Silvestre and Morthel adding that their affirmation depended on whether it implied the elimination of the Jewish population in Israel – an interpretation disputed by pro-Palestinian campaigners.

Republican member Bean commended the district heads for their testimony but cautioned against repeating the mistakes made by university presidents who, in past hearings, promised to protect students without fulfilling those promises.

In a response to the subcommittee's focus on antisemitism, Democratic Representative Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon called for Republicans to condemn previous instances of antisemitism, specifically mentioning the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. She urged her colleagues to show courage and denounce such comments emanating from their own party.

As the hearing concluded, tensions remained high, highlighting the ongoing responsibility of schools and authorities to confront and combat antisemitism within American communities.