Pennsylvania lawmakers urge Gov. Josh Shapiro to tackle antisemitism in public schools

The letter also highlighted specific district employees whom the caucus accused of promoting extreme ideologies and creating a hostile environment.

By Corey Walker, The Algemeiner

A bipartisan group of Pennsylvania state lawmakers has called on Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) to intervene in what they described as a deepening crisis of antisemitism and political extremism within the School District of Philadelphia (SDP).

In a letter sent this week, members of the “Meet Me in the Middle” caucus, which was formed to bridge partisan divides and promote practical governance, criticized district leadership, cited federal findings of civil rights violations, and urged the governor to take action.

The caucus — co-founded by state Rep. Jamie Flick, a Republican who spearheaded this week’s letter — warned that SDP has become a case study in “radicalism gaining too much influence in our public institutions.”

The letter pointed to a 2024 report by the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which confirmed widespread antisemitic harassment and alleged systemic failures by SDP to address complaints from Jewish families.

“The OCR found that the district not only ignored these complaints, but failed to follow federal law, keep appropriate records, or enforce rules regarding staff conduct on social media,” the lawmakers wrote.

The letter also highlighted specific district employees whom the caucus accused of promoting extreme ideologies and creating a hostile environment.

Among those named was Ismael Jimenez, director of the social studies curriculum, who allegedly mocked a Jewish teacher’s lawsuit as “white tears” and displayed an image of Assata Shakur, a convicted cop killer, outside his office.

Another teacher, Keziah Ridgeway, was suspended and later reinstated after allegedly threatening gun violence against critics and denying sexual violence took place during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.

Ridgeway, a history and anthropology teacher in Philadelphia who promoted anti-Israel activism in the classroom, was placed on administrative last year for social media posts alluding to violence against certain Jewish parents whose names she allegedly posted on social media. Supporters of Ridgeway argue she was the victim of a smear campaign.

“This is illustrative, not exhaustive,” the letter said of the examples cited, referencing additional staff members accused of celebrating anti-police sentiment and glorifying militant imagery in the classroom.

The lawmakers also criticized the secrecy surrounding the district’s curriculum. While some Pennsylvania districts post their teaching materials online, Philadelphia’s curriculum was leaked by a concerned teacher, according to the letter, which added that the content was “highly politicized” and offensive to both Jewish and Hindu communities.

“Why do some Pennsylvania school districts post their curriculum online, while others are facing ‘leaks’ from concerned teachers?” the caucus asked.

Citing the OCR’s findings and ongoing concerns from both Jewish and Hindu families, the legislators urged Shapiro to launch a formal investigation, tighten oversight of social media policies for educators, and ensure curriculum transparency.

“Education policy is primarily a state concern,” the caucus noted. “There has been no real change in leadership in SDP, and these issues are not abating — they are getting worse.”

Invoking the governor’s own words from the 2024 Democratic National Convention, where Shapiro asked whether the nation would choose “chaos or extremism” or a path of “decency and progress,” the caucus concluded by pledging to work with his administration on legislative solutions.

“We choose decency and progress over chaos and extremism,” the letter said.