As the new school year begins, many Jewish families are concerned about the safety of their children due to the rising antisemitic threats and violence. According to the New York Police Department, antisemitic hate crimes increased by 8.5% in New York City in the first seven months of 2026. The majority of hate crimes in the city were anti-Jewish, despite Jewish New Yorkers being only a tenth of the population.

National Problem

Recent FBI statistics show that, although Jews only make up 2% of the U.S. population, they were the victims of 16% of all reported hate crimes and nearly 70% of all religion-based hate crimes. And 10% of those crimes happened in schools. Antisemitic incidents at K-12 schools have increased 434% since 2020.

Schools cannot solve every social failure, but they can set the standard for how a free society responds to hate. The U.S. Department of Education issued a letter reminding schools that Title VI protects all students, including students who are or are perceived to be Jewish, from discrimination.

Administrators should say plainly that antisemitism is unacceptable, whether it appears as a threat, a slur, a swastika, harassment over Jewish identity or intimidation tied to Israel or Zionism. Further, education must be more than a one-off assembly after an incident. Students should learn what antisemitism is, how it mutates across political movements, conspiracy theories, and social media trends and why targeting Jews corrodes civic life for everyone.

Schools and law enforcement should coordinate before a crisis. Every school that serves Jewish students should have a clear plan for reporting threats, preserving evidence, communicating with families and protecting students who are targeted.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.