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Anti-Defamation League condemns alleged ‘pervasive antisemitic harassment’ at Concord-Carlisle schools
The school district reportedly failed to protect Jewish students from harassment and neglected to appropriately address the alleged abuse, according to the ADL.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) announced Tuesday that it had filed a brief with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) alleging that the Concord-Carlisle public school district “failed to protect Jewish students from pervasive antisemitic harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.”
The ADL said it filed the brief to document “an alarming pattern of antisemitic bullying, slurs, threats, and retaliation at Concord-Carlisle High School and Concord Middle School” which prompted “at least one Jewish student” to leave the district to “escape the hostile climate,” according to a statement. The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and a pro bono team at the Mayer Brown law firm joined the ADL in filing the brief.
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The filing states that school and district officials repeatedly ignored “sustained patterns of antisemitic abuse,” failed to “take timely or effective action” to protect a Jewish student who was being harassed, and “facilitated escalating retaliation” against the student, the ADL said in the statement. Though officials reportedly received “numerous reports” across multiple academic years, they neglected to address “underlying antisemitic attitudes” in the school community.
“The antisemitic climate at Concord-Carlisle did not emerge overnight. It was allowed to take root and persist,” Samantha Joseph, regional director of ADL New England, said in the statement. “There must be transparency in how the district responds to incidents, and it must adopt clear protocols to address antisemitism, provide guidance on reporting and response, and promote education and awareness to prevent the spread of hate.”
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Joseph added that, although only one specific incident is being cited in the brief, evidence indicates that the abuse was “not an isolated case” and points to a wider systemic issue. In the case of the student who left the district, the abuse was “routinely downplayed or dismissed,” and officials reportedly ignored pleas from his family to condemn the harassment, the ADL said.
“Concord Carlisle High School does not tolerate antisemitic acts between its students,” Concord-Carlisle Superintendent Dr. Laurie Hunter said in a statement. “Every report is fully investigated and addressed swiftly and seriously. The schools have thorough response protocols, an anonymous reporting system, and ongoing training for students and staff.”
The reported abuse included students giving Nazi salutes in school hallways, drawing swastikas on school property, using antisemitic slurs, and dividing themselves into teams called “Team Auschwitz” and “Team Hamas” during athletic games, according to the ADL.
The harassment reportedly involved at least seven different students across the district, but administrators “treated each incident as an isolated interpersonal conflict rather than recognizing it as part of a hostile environment requiring a broader response,” according to the statement.
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In one instance, administrators allegedly proposed to remove the Jewish student from the classroom and place them in independent studies rather than doing so for the perpetrators. In another, the district’s director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging reportedly downplayed the use of an antisemitic slur as a “microaggression,” the ADL said.
“The relentless nature of these attacks is a clear sign of an environment of hate and fear, one where no student would be set up for success,” Kenneth L. Marcus, chairman and CEO of the Brandeis Center and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education, said in the statement. “Concord-Carlisle officials blatantly ignored a striking pattern of antisemitism and prioritized the status quo over the safety of Jewish students.”
Furthermore, the filing states that though the district repeatedly denounced antisemitism, the “empty public statements” they issued only led to further abuse. These patterns demonstrate a “systemic failure” to comply with Title VI obligations to protect students from ancestral and ethnic discrimination, the ADL said.
One instance of the “diluted” response came in late 2024 after swastikas were found in school bathrooms, only to appear again at the high school skate park in April 2025. The district reportedly “failed to take substantive action” when swastikas were found in the bathrooms and waited more than three weeks to alert police and families about the swastikas found at the skate park, according to the ADL.
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“The district had multiple opportunities to address its hostile antisemitic environment and take corrective action, but failed again and again,” Jenna Statfeld Harris, senior counsel at StandWithUs Saidoff Legal, said in the statement. “This failure caused deep harm not only to Jewish students left unprotected from relentless harassment, but also to the broader community, including peers who learned that such bigotry was tolerated. This normalization of antisemitism is fueling rising hostility and violence toward Jews across the United States.”
The complainants are calling on the OCR to conduct antisemitism training for staff and students, update Title VI policies and procedures, incorporate the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism into school policies, and issue a “clear, stand-alone statement” denouncing antisemitism, according to the statement.
“The district has strong relationships with local Jewish faith leaders in multiple communities to align its efforts to fight antisemitism in the schools and the Concord community,” Hunter said. “We regularly survey students, families, and staff to ensure there is ongoing information about students’ feelings of belonging in our schools. We are cooperating with the Office for Civil Rights, always looking for feedback on how to enhance our policies, processes, and programs.”
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