Dear Léman administrators,
The discovery of multiple swastikas throughout our school building once again is simply horrifying. As a Jewish student navigating an already difficult time with an extreme rise of anti-semitism and anti-Jewish hate, I want to be able to feel safe in my school community, but unfortunately, I don’t.
A swastika isn't just a symbol that reflects 'hate' towards Jews, it's a symbol that represents the movement and the desire to have Jewish people, such as myself, exterminated from the world. This isn't just a case of kids being kids, or just another offensive action by a student; it's a deliberate attempt by a member of our community to intimidate others, provoke fear, and make people feel unsafe and uncomfortable.
Words cannot even begin to explain how I’m feeling right now. What I can say, however, is that I'm afraid.
I'm afraid to attend school knowing that I could be in the same room with a person who feels comfortable displaying symbols which support the slaughter of my people. I'm afraid to attend school knowing that this has happened before, and likely will happen again. I'm afraid to attend school knowing that a year after multiple swastikas were painted in a bathroom stall, I don’t feel as if anything has changed.
I want to ask one question: What will be done to make students–particularly Jewish students–feel safe after something like this happens?
Multiple Jewish students have already voiced their concerns about their own personal safety at school, following these incidents. It begs the question: how can we be sure that this terrorizing behavior will stop at vandalism and not escalate to physical harm?
I have continuously preached the core values of the school, and spoke to how it is such a welcoming, inclusive environment. I've said these things because that's what I've been told–that's what the school praises itself for. Unfortunately, when things like this happen, it's simply not what I experience at all.
For me, and for many other Jewish students, this isn't just another occurrence, this is an attack on our identity, and our being.
Antisemitism is real. It's plaguing our world, and unfortunately (yet inevitably), it’s in our school community. We may just be a mere 0.2% of the global population, but our struggles, our pain, and our experiences are real. Six months ago, the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust occurred on October 7th, when Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists slaughtered over a thousand innocent Israelis. Jews across the world are scared, yet in our own community, it seems as if nothing has been done to make us feel safe.
I encourage you to read an article I wrote for The Bullhorn on antisemitism last year, because unfortunately, eleven months later, many of the things I said could be (and will be) said again.
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Signed,
Lev Feldsher
President of the Léman Jewish Student Union
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