A teacher discovered a swastika made out of painter’s tape on the side of a desk in a classroom Wednesday morning. That evening, the administration promptly released a statement at 7:01 p.m. This announcement comes as both FCCPS and the global community grapple with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which flared up Sunday after the Palestinian Sunni-Muslim group Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (HAMAS) launched an offensive against Israel.
“Historically, when the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict flares up, we see an expansion of anti-semitism worldwide,” history teacher Jared Peet said. “Part of the many things that scared me when [the conflict began] was that this could lead to a spike in anti-semitism against American Jews.”
“It is despicable and disgusting any time of the year,” Associate Principal Peter Laub said, “but especially now.”
He sympathized with the Jewish community at Meridian. “I am not Jewish, but it hurts me to know that [the swastika] was a message that someone was interested in creating.”
A swastika was also drawn on the elevator on October 17, 2022, and evoked similar outrage and action from the school community. “I just felt profound disappointment,” Laub added. “And especially because we talked about this last year.”
“I’m very perplexed that these signs are showing up in our school,” junior Ama Rajabov said. “There is no place for anti-semitism in Meridian High School.”
“I can’t guarantee that it was a student who did this, and our assistant principals are doing the work to find out who the person was,” Laub said, alluding to the next steps and plans. “One of the things I am interested in doing is pulling together student leaders to send a message to the school about how we won’t tolerate anything like this.” In addition to these steps, the administration is planning to address students to emphasize the school’s zero-tolerance policy around hate-based speech and content.
In a Schoology post, Laub urges students “with information to please come forward either anonymously using this form or reach out to an administrator and/or counselor here at Meridian High School.”
