Rally Against Antisemitism at School Board Meeting

At a recent Cobb County Board of Education meeting, concerns about antisemitism at two district schools took center stage, with community members and advocates urging stronger accountability measures for classroom instruction and textbooks at all Cobb schools.

During an AP Human Geography class at Wheeler High School, an illustration depicting the IDF and Israel was part of a slide presentation by the teacher. In the illustration, the soldier, identified by an IDF hat, sweeps up bodies with a broom labeled, “Ethnic Cleansing,” across a map of Palestine. Earlier that week in the same class, Samantha Epstein, a ninth grader in the class, shared her experience as three anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian slides were shared with the class during a discussion of “Stateless Nations.”

“I don’t know if I’m the only Jewish person in the class, but I felt sad and nauseous during these presentations,” she said. “Throughout the years, my two siblings and I have faced issues of antisemitism at our schools. Sometimes it’s dumb comments by other students. Three years ago, when my sister was in eighth grade at East Cobb Middle School, she watched her classmates wear swastika armbands doing the Nazi salute, which they posted all over social media. Last year, after Oct. 7, I saw a teacher at East Cobb Middle School display a pro-Palestinian flag outside her classroom. Just a few weeks later, at Campbell High School, my sister sat through an International Parade where students marched through the gym with large Palestinian flags that had been supplied by the school administrators” she added.

This graphic was shown during an AP Human Geography class at Wheeler High School during a lesson on ethnic cleansing.

Epstein simply wants to feel safe at school, she stressed, and treated fairly and equally, even if her religious beliefs are different from others at Wheeler. She was happy to report that the teacher of the AP Human Geography class who had presented the slides had sincerely apologized after the inaccuracies were brought to his attention.

Laura Zhiss, a mother of three children in Cobb schools, is the co-founder of SHIELD, a community of parents, educators and advocates working together to ensure fair, accurate and honest education for all students. As the first parent speaker of the night, Zhiss was adamant about her belief that the same level of scrutiny be applied to classroom content as is applied to books in the Cobb school libraries.

“Jewish parents in this district continue to find classroom materials that misrepresent Jewish history and the state of Israel – materials that distort facts, omit critical context and push narratives that fuel Jew hatred,” she said.

According to Zhiss’s assessment, the problem is systemic and unacceptable. She recounted that in October 2024, she had gone before the school board and warned them about the biased materials, yet she has not seen any changes made to date. She implored the board members to create an infrastructure that ensures an education “based on truth.” She told them, “Otherwise, you are complicit in the misinformation that fuels Jew hatred and endangers Jewish students.”

Samantha Epstein with her mother, Sherrie, before speaking to the Cobb County Board of Education.

Mindy Harrison, fellow co-founder of SHIELD, asked the Cobb School Board to have greater oversight on materials introduced in the classroom. She spoke about several historical inaccuracies that have been embedded and uploaded to the Cobb Teaching and Learning System (CTLS), a digital learning platform developed by the Cobb County School District to provide information and learning materials to help support students and teachers.

“To prevent misuse of the classroom, I propose a system where only vetted, district-approved resources are uploaded by the county, tagged on CTLS and available to educators. No individual teacher should be able to upload unvetted material. If a teacher wants to introduce a new resource, the information must go through a county-level vetting process before being approved and made available. These steps will ensure a safe and accurate teaching platform,” said Harrison.

Harrison also recounted a recent incident at Dickerson Middle School where a swastika was written on the wall of the boys’ locker room. While she did not believe middle school administrators initially took the situation seriously enough, the school district has since issued a statement, “Once Administration has identified who is responsible, consequences for this unacceptable, hateful behavior will be as severe as policy and the law allows.”

Rachel Naor leads Cobb Parents Against Antisemitism, a local group that has grown to 330 parents throughout the county. She has seen progress in the school district and a greater willingness by school board members to engage with Jewish parents about their concerns. At Wheeler High School, for example, she mentioned the resumption of the Jewish Club and a speaking engagement by a Holocaust survivor. She agreed with Zhiss and Harrison about the need to vet learning materials before teachers introduce them into the classrooms.

“There are two issues facing us right now. First, teachers are using unapproved materials in the classroom, like a recent Al Jazeera video, to teach about what is happening in the Middle East. Second, even the approved Social Studies material is often incorrect. Several of the existing textbooks were created with funding from Qatar, which provides a prejudiced perspective,” she explained.

Naor indicated that her group has been working with county officials to help effect positive change in the schools. She stressed that the board members and staff have been quick in responding to inquiries.

There are two issues facing us right now. First, teachers are using unapproved materials in the classroom, like a recent Al Jazeera video, to teach about what is happening in the Middle East. Second, even the approved Social Studies material is often incorrect. Several of the existing textbooks were created with funding from Qatar, which provides a prejudiced perspective.

At the meeting’s end, Chris Ragsdale, Cobb County School District superintendent, on behalf of the board, told those assembled, “While we cannot always discuss actions that have already been taken, rest assured we are taking action.”

He shared the story of his father, a German prisoner-of-war who was tortured during World War II. “He lived with those scars for the rest of his life, and while I may not be Jewish, antisemitism has a resounding negative impact on me,” he said.

In his concluding remarks, he told parents, students and others in attendance, “Antisemitism will not be tolerated in any form–period.”