House committee opens antisemitism investigations into Fairfax, Berkeley, Philadelphia schools

Having cracked down on antisemitism at elite universities, the House Education and Workforce Committee is turning its attention to K-12 school districts.

Chairman Tim Walberg announced Monday that the committee has launched investigations into reports of antisemitic harassment at three major districts: Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, Berkeley Unified School District in California, and the School District of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania.

The investigations center on whether the districts have violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color and national origin, including shared ancestry, with their handling of campus antisemitism.

In his letter to Fairfax Superintendent Michelle Reid, Mr. Walberg said the committee is “deeply concerned that FCPS is failing to uphold its obligation under Title VI,” citing reports of incidents occurring before and after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre of Israeli civilians and others.

“Jewish students allegedly faced repeated antisemitic bullying, including other students making the ’Heil Hitler’ salute and throwing coins at them,” said the Monday letter. “Another school for years allegedly refused to remove a hallway display that included painted tiles, 40 percent of which featured swastikas and Nazi flags.”

Shortly before the Oct. 7 attack, the Muslim Students Association at one high school hosted a speaker who made “gross antisemitic statements” on social media, such as “I’m not racist I love everyone. Except the yahood [Jews]” and “Never met a Jew who didn’t have a huge nose.”

Some of the allegations listed in the letter were included in a 2022 complaint filed by the Zionist Organization of America with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.

Mr. Walberg said that the “environment for Jewish students has only grown worse since October 7th, according to press and whistleblower reports.”

“Recent incidents include a high school approving an anti-Israel walkout during school; an MSA chapter distributing flyers on October 7, 2024, that included a map depicting the elimination of the state of Israel; and just recently, MSA chapters reenacting the October 7th kidnappings in a promotional video,” he said.

The kidnapping incident referred to students with the Muslim Students Association who pretended to abduct classmates who said “no” when asked if they planned to attend the next club meeting, as shown in video skits posted last month.

The district said the videos were not approved by the schools and have since been removed, saying that acting out “these types of violent acts is traumatizing for many of us to watch and, given world events, especially traumatizing to our Jewish students, staff, and community.”

Several students received in-school suspensions, prompting objections from the Council for American-Islamic Relations, which argued that other student groups have enacted similar skits as part of a “popular trend” without being punished.

NEW ➡️ Chairman @RepWalberg is leading an investigation into three K-12 school districts for their failures to respond to rampant allegations of antisemitism, including calls to violence and the showing of Nazi symbols. The districts include Fairfax County, VA; Philadelphia; and… pic.twitter.com/YpZi7Xh0Je

— House Committee on Education & Workforce (@EdWorkforceCmte) November 24, 2025

The letter to Berkeley Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel said that since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks against Israel, “Jewish and Israeli students have allegedly been regularly bullied and harassed.”

“Some teachers and administrators across BUSD allegedly facilitate and encourage this hostility, while others fail to act in response to it,” the letter said. “For example, since October 7th, BUSD teachers, staff, and administrators have allegedly urged students to join walkouts and demonstrations during school hours that isolate and alienate Jewish students. At one such walkout, students were allegedly chanting ‘Kill the Jews.’”

Rep. Kevin Kiley, the California Republican who chairs the Early Childhood, Elementary Education, and Secondary Education subcommittee, also signed the letter.

The School District of Philadelphia entered into a “federally mandated corrective action plan” last year with the Department of Education, but press and whistleblower reports show that “antisemitic incidents have continued to proliferate since the plan,” said the letter signed by Mr. Walberg and Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, Pennsylvania Republican.

“Today, SDP employs numerous educators who allegedly promote antisemitic content in their classrooms,” the letter said. “One such teacher has allegedly threatened Jewish parents and students online. She and other Philadelphia educators also allegedly use lessons from an effort called Teaching Palestine, whose class materials rationalize terrorist violence and advocate for the destruction of Israel.”

The Washington Times has reached out to the districts for comment.

The committee launched an investigation into antisemitism on university campuses after the Oct. 7 attack, which included grilling college presidents on the anti-Israel protests that engulfed college campuses after the attack.

The presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania both resigned in the weeks after their disastrous December 2023 appearances before the committee.

In its October 2024 report, the committee said that university officials “fully capitulated to the mob” and failed to protect Jewish students.