(JTA) — An eighth grade student was suspended from a Colorado middle school for an alleged anti-Semitic incident, even though both the student and the victim are Jewish.
A student at Oberon Middle School in Jefferson County, Colorado, tied another student to a soccer goal post and told him to “burn, Jew, burn.”
The school district learned about the incident through an anonymous school survey that asked students about their experiences during the past school year. After investigating the incident, the district suspended the student they believed to be responsible, according to the CBS Denver affiliate CBS 4.
“You don’t use ethnic slurs, racism isn’t okay in our schools. Any time this happens we are going to take action,” Jefferson County Public Schools spokesperson Diana Wilson told CBS 4.
The channel reported that it had discovered that the boys were friends and both Jewish.
The suspension comes after several allegations of anti-Semitism at the same middle school. One student told the district school board that she has to “constantly deal with anti-Semitism.” She also complained in a public forum about the incidents to Democratic Rep. Jared Polis, according to the report.
A student also complained that fellow students drew a swastika on his arm, and a teacher has complained about anti-Semitic incidents.
At another district middle school, students were suspended after making anti-Semitic remarks and drawings.
