Yonkers under the spotlight: Many stunned by antisemitic incident at basketball game

Before the girls basketball team at Yonkers' Roosevelt High School again plays the Leffell School, a Jewish school in Hartsdale, players from the two schools will sit down and talk to each other.

While both schools continue to investigate antisemitic remarks directed at Leffell players during a game last week, Yonkers Interim Superintendent Luis Rodriguez said they agreed the teams would participate in what's known as a "restorative justice circle" before facing off on the court again.

"All of these young athletes will have an opportunity to express their concerns and to have a voice with respect to how it is that comments like that cut to the quick in communities wherein there is this generational history of pain," Rodriguez said in an interview Monday.

The Leffell team was supposed to play at Yonkers' Riverside High School on Monday, but the game was postponed.

A Roosevelt player who said "Free Palestine" during Thursday's game has been dismissed from the team. Another comment, "I support Hamas, you (expletive) Jew," was reported to the Leffell School by a parent but has not been confirmed by Yonkers, Rodriguez said.

Restorative justice circles are a less punitive approach to conflict that have become common in schools. They focus on building relationships through facilitated conversations between someone who has caused harm and the person or people on the receiving end.

The Leffell School didn't return calls to The Journal News/lohud reporters Monday. A school representative said Tuesday the school wasn't taking media requests.

Officials want more information

Yonkers' response to the incident was under scrutiny Monday, with public officials and others pushing for a thorough investigation.

"The investigation should include how many players were involved and perhaps the whole team has to be sanctioned," said State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-Scarsdale. "They really need to step up as a district and to address antisemitism in their classrooms after an incident like this."

An account of what happened by a Leffell player, published online after the game Thursday, said that Roosevelt students shouted antisemitic slurs and curses, along with "Free Palestine."

The student, senior Robin Bosworth, wrote that the Roosevelt team also became overly physical during the game, which The Leffell School ended after three quarters.

"If there was undue physical activity was that just one person?" Paulin asked. "You know, was it fully investigated so that we know it was limited to one student?"

Rodriguez said video footage showed "a spirited game," but athletic staff told him there wasn't any untoward behavior other than the "Free Palestine" comment. There was one instance when a Yonkers player's elbow hit the head of a Leffell player as she came down from a rebound, but the game was otherwise clean, he said.

On Sunday, Rodriquez and Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano said that a coach and a player had been dismissed from the team. "The antisemitic rhetoric reportedly made against the student athletes of The Leffell School are abhorrent, inappropriate and not in line with the values we set forth for our young people," their statement said.

Rodriguez wouldn't say Monday who the coach was or why exactly they were dismissed. But he said he wanted to be clear that the reasons weren't "because the coach either participated or condoned or acquiesced in any kind of antisemitic activity."

Rodriguez said the student was removed because the "Free Palestine" comment went against good sportsmanship, proper conduct and respectful interaction required of Yonkers players in their athletic code of conduct.

Paulin said Monday that Yonkers' statement on the incident should have been more specific about what was said at the game. She said a social media post from NYCPS Alliance described the taunts in more detail. NYCPS Alliance posted on Instagram that a Roosevelt student screamed "I support Hamas you (expletive) Jew."

Rodriguez said he didn't hear of that comment until he read it in media reports.

Calls grow for consequences and education

State Sen. Shelley Mayer, D-Yonkers, credited Spano and other Yonkers officials for responding appropriately. She said Spano's statement showed his "commitment to finding a path to educate these students who engaged in this conduct, which was not the whole team, and is not the whole school."

Mayer said an initial statement she saw from the school district that wasn't shared publicly minimized the impact of the incident.

"This is the moment we need to make sure that there is education and conversation and ensure it doesn't happen again," Mayer said.

More: Section 1, politicians call for investigation of antisemitic incident at Yonkers HS game

Even before the Israel-Hamas war, Mayer was concerned about antisemitism in schools. She convened a panel discussion with high school students throughout Westchester in July to discuss the best responses.

Mayer said one-off responses, with students getting disciplined and the school holding an assembly, are not enough.

"We need to condemn and educate. I just don't think condemn is the only thing to do here," Mayer said.

State Assemblywoman MaryJane Shimsky, D-Dobbs Ferry, called the incident "deeply disturbing" but, like Mayer, said it was an opportunity to educate the school community and beyond about the evils of antisemitism.

State Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers, the Senate majority leader, joined calls for the state Board of Regents to investigate the Yonkers incident, as "my heart goes out to the students and families of the Leffell School."

Scott Richman, the Anti-Defamation League's regional director for New York and New Jersey, said that amid a rise in antisemitic incidents, consequences are important to show that hate won't be tolerated.

Richman noted that 75 schools in Westchester participate in the ADL's "No Place for Hate" anti-bias program, but no Yonkers schools do. The ADL is reaching out to Yonkers about that, he said. The ADL also has programs related more specifically to antisemitism the district might want to consider, he said.

"It's been proven that Holocaust education is a way for students to understand the importance of fighting hate. It's a cautionary tale. It shows what happens when hate gets out of hand," Richman said.

Rodriguez agreed the incident could be used as a teachable moment. The Israel/Hamas war "has infused the situation with with a lot of emotion," he said. "The fact that there has been such a marked reported increase in antisemitic activity across this country of late is also exceedingly worrisome."

Since the brutal Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and subsequent war in Gaza now entering its fourth month, schools across the country have faced intense pressure to either make statements about the war or take action against hatred on their campuses.

Rodriguez said the Yonkers schools address bias and hate through many initiatives: its diversity, equity and inclusion work, through social and emotional learning, with mental health supports, and through its My Brother's Keeper and My Sister's Keeper programs.

But schools can't eradicate antisemitism and hate on their own, he said.

While schools play a large role in socializing young people as they develop their world views, students are also influenced by their peers, by civic and political groups, the news and the entertainment industry, Rodriguez said.

"If in fact, as a society, our role is to eradicate antisemitism, and that is exactly what it should be, in addition to every other form of bigotry, then that has to be a community effort that involves all of those parties," Rodriguez said.

Westchester commission to investigate

Westchester County Executive George Latimer said in a Facebook post that Westchester's Human Rights Commission would investigate and that "Westchester does not tolerate hate of any type: racism, anti-Semitism, prejudice expressed toward Women, LGBTQ individuals, Muslims, Asian Americans, Hispanics, the disabled."

In an emailed statement, Latimer said he invited Section 1 leaders, coaches and players to participate in a roundtable discussion about how to compete with respect. He said those who work at the Westchester County Center during the Section 1 basketball tournaments will receive training on creating a positive, inclusive environment.

Latimer plans to challenge U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman in a Democratic primary.

On Monday, Bowman, a vocal critic of Israel, called the antisemitic behavior during the game harmful and unacceptable.

"The ongoing violence in Israel and Palestine and the tragic loss of life of Palestinian and Israeli civilians has caused immeasurable trauma and pain for Palestinian, Israeli, Jewish, Muslim, and Arab people around the world," he said in a statement. "As we witness these horrific tragedies unfold, we must remember that Jewish Americans are not responsible for the actions of the Israeli government, just as Arab Americans are not responsible for the actions of Hamas."

Schools should be a safe haven for students and families, Bowman said, and students should "have opportunities to learn accurate and unbiased information about both history and current events, as well as opportunities to engage with diverse peers, perspectives, and cultures."

Gov. Kathy Hochul even tweeted about the incident on Saturday: "A high school basketball game. This cannot be who we are as New Yorkers. No one should ever be subjected to antisemitism or any kind of hate."

Contact Diana Dombrowski at ddombrowski@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @domdomdiana.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Yonkers antisemitic incident at game brings calls for education