A yearbook scandal has rocked a New Jersey high school after the names and picture of a group of Jewish students were deleted, and their group photo was swapped for one showing Muslim students.
The controversy first emerged on Tuesday, when about 375 yearbooks were distributed at East Brunswick High.
In the yearbook, the section for the Jewish Student Union was completely cut out, with the names of the members removed.
The picture of the group was swapped out for one showing Muslim students who are unassociated with the club.
Superintendent of the East Brunswick school system, Victor Valeski, said it could have been a ‘legitimate mistake’.
However Brunswick mayor Mayor Brad Cohen described the photo switch as a ‘blatant anti-semitic act’.
A yearbook scandal has rocked a high school after the names and picture of a group of Jewish students were deleted, and their group photo was swapped for one showing Muslim students
In the yearbook, the section for the Jewish Student Union fell between the Tenor Bass group and the Key Service Organization, both of which have names listed next to their photos. For the Jewish Student Union, however, there is no text – only a blank space
Superintendent Valeski, after apologizing to both Jewish and Muslim students, urged the community not to jump to conclusions.
‘I sent a message out to the community today saying that we’re investigating- and I wished people would give us time to investigate, not rush to judgment,’ he told NBC4.
He said the error may have been innocent and without any anti-Semitic motives.
‘I’m gonna wait to find out what the investigation finds because it could be a legitimate mistake.’ He added: ‘I don’t want to call it antisemitism yet.’
Mayor Cohen, however, said there was no other tenable explanation.
Of the yearbook scandal, he said: ‘It sparked a lot of outrage in the community because it’s hard for most people to fathom how this happened ‘by accident.’
If the textbook incident was the product of anti-Semitism, Mayor Cohen has wondered whether or not it should be considered a hate crime.
Superintendent Valeski, after apologizing to both Jewish and Muslim students, urged the community not to jump to conclusions. He speculated that the error could have been innocent, and one without anti-Semitic motives
In a statement, East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen called it a ‘blatant Anti-Semitic act’
‘I think the community – both the Jewish community and community at-large – deserve an answer quickly,’ Cohen said.
‘It’s downright upsetting and outrageous for you not to call it out for what it is: It is an anti-Semitic act.’
Once the issue in the yearbook was detected, the members of the Jewish Student Union reconvened to take a new photo, which will be included, along with their names, in amended versions.
The school district has also engaged an outside law firm to launch a probe into the matter and get to the bottom of it.
‘Hate has no place in East Brunswick and Anti-Semitism will not be tolerated,’ Mayor Cohen said.
Once the issue in the yearbook was detected, the members of the Jewish Student Union reconvened to take a new photo, which will be included, along with their names, in amended versions
School buses drive from the campus of East Brunswick High School after the school day on February 22, 2018
Meanwhile, the New Jersey office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called for a ‘transparent and fair investigation.’
The yearbook incident ‘has triggered heinous backlash against some Muslim students who had no knowledge on their photo being misused,’ spokesperson Aya Elamroussi said in a statement.
Tensions have flared across college and school campuses following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
On Saturday, Israel managed to rescue four people in a hostage rescue operation in the heart of Nuseirat.