Sections

EST 1917

Swastika image sent to cellphones of students at suburban Chicago high school

The image was “air-dropped” on an Apple device to students at an assembly. A student in the auditorium has been accused as the sender.

Advertisement
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

(JTA) — An image of a swastika was sent to the cellphones of students during an assembly at a suburban Chicago high school.

The image was “air-dropped” Friday morning on an Apple device to students attending the Tradition of Excellence assembly at the Oak Park and River Forest High School.

The sender was later identified as a student who was in the auditorium at the time, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The incident follows two incidents of racist and anti-Semitic graffiti found on the school’s campus since the beginning of the month.

On Nov. 2, racist and anti-Semitic graffiti was discovered outside the school building on a shed near the campus tennis courts. Days later, “hate-speech graffiti” including a swastika and racist and anti-Semitic comments, including “GAS the Jews,” was discovered inside a campus bathroom.

The school held a panel discussion Nov. 7 with students, religious leaders and school board members titled “Community Conversation Around Hate Crimes: Coming Together for Change.” The program also was in response to recent hate-driven events, such as the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, according to the report.

Meanwhile, a Jewish student at a Chicago public school, the Oscar Mayer Magnet School, found a swastika drawn on his locker last week, as well as what the school called other “derogatory symbols.”

Reporting the stories that define our era. When history unfolds in real-time, the Jewish world turns to JTA. Your support ensures we can document the complexities of war and the resilience of Jewish communities with integrity.

Choose an amount to donate

Recommended from JTA

Advertisement