West Cook News

Oak Park-River Forest High School administrators have failed to hold three teachers accountable for repeated antisemitism, according to a detailed 18-page complaint filed recently with two state agencies. 

District 200 parents and community members are asking that teachers Anthony Clark, Daniel Cohen and Wafaa Alwawi be held to account by the Illinois State Board of Education for "unprofessional conduct" involving antisemitic statements, and for having failed to "demonstrate the good character required of teachers."

The complaint filed June 30 indicates that many of the complainants have expressed to school and district officials "our deep concern about the antisemitic statements and acts of three teachers, along with the high school's failure to remedy a hostile antisemitic environment for Jewish students."

Under provisions of the Illinois Human Rights Act and the Illinois Civil Rights Act, the complaint also asks the Illinois Attorney General to investigate District 200's "lack of appropriate action regarding these three teachers' statements and actions, as well as the actions and inactions by D200's leadership."

"We have spent hours writing letters, talking, and meeting with the leadership at Oak Park and River Forest High School as well as with the District 200 Board of Education about these problems," the complaint states. 

"They have taken virtually no remedial action in response. We therefore turn to you to ensure that District 200 is a safe and welcoming place for Jewish students, and that the teachers who are failing to act consistent with district policies and the law are held accountable."

The complaint states that since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, Clark has "posted and liked antisemitic comments on social media and promoted antisemitic falsehoods."

Two early examples cited in the complaint are:

- "On October 31, 2023, he called for the elimination of the entire state of Israel, stating '[i]f it is possible for Israel to exist without colonization & genocide, I’m all for it. Find land uninhabited, if you cannot, then no.' 

If the only country of the 195 the U.S. recognizes one wants to see eliminated is the single Jewish one, then this is antisemitic."

- "On December 27, 2023, he promoted a post on X that there were no rape victims on October 7, 2023, when the terrorist group Hamas breached a ceasefire agreement with Israel, infiltrated Israel’s border, and committed an unprovoked slaughter of 1,200 children, women, and men in Israel. Of course, the claim that there were no rape victims is horribly false. Only an antisemite would spread such lies."

According to the complaint, parents and community members complained to school administrators but were told by Board President Tom Cofsky that the district does not take sides or administer consequences to those expressing their "political beliefs."

Regarding Cohen and Alwawi, who are advisors to the district's Middle Eastern and North Africa (MENA) Club, the complaint states they "endorsed" the Hamas terrorist attack. 

Two early examples cited in the complaint include:

-"On October 28, 2023, MENA posted a graphic that states 'Decolonize Palestine.' Underneath the words 'Decolonize Palestine' is a depiction of a bulldozer going through a fence – this is an explicit endorsement of the terrorist attack on October 7. Underneath this post, MENA requested design submissions such as this one to put on t-shirts to sell as a fundraiser. They also suggested designs that used the word 'Revolution.' Thus, MENA and their teacher-advisors are explicitly endorsing the barbaric killings, rapes, and kidnappings of that day. This graphic is still posted to MENA’s IG page. D200 has made no attempt to remove this post."

-"On December 13, 2023, MENA sponsored a live video event with Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi, a well-known antisemite. This event was publicized by the school in its Daily Bulletin to students and parents as well as via intercom at the school. Professor Khalidi presented a one-sided and inaccurate depiction of events in the Middle East. He ignored the Jewish aboriginal rights and history to the land; he ignored the wars started by Arab countries, the Jewish refugees from Arab countries, and the successful integration of Arab Israelis in modern Israeli life; he ignored the offers of peace turned down by the Palestinians; he falsely called the Palestinian issue a 'colonial issue'; he falsely stated that Zionism started in eastern Europe; and he falsely stated that European antisemitism and pogroms created antisemitism. Professor Khalidi has expressed support for terrorism and justified Hamas’s atrocities on October 7. He signed a statement that said Hamas’s October 7 atrocities were a 'military action,' defended calling Israel an 'apartheid' state, and 'recontextualized' the 'events' of October 7. He has called the designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization an 'apocalyptic' exaggeration."

The complaint states that despite efforts of parents and community members to inform the district about Khalidi's antisemitic statements, Cofsky permitted MENA to invite Khalidi to speak at the school. 

It also claims that teachers can be dismissed for speech made outside the classroom. 

"Teachers Anthony Clark, Daniel Cohen, and Wafaa Alwawi have demonstrated unprofessional conduct and lack of good character," it states. "By their inaction to effectively address these teachers’ misconduct and, at times, by their own affirmative acts, District 200’s leadership has discriminated against, condoned harassment, and disparately impacted its Jewish students based on their national origin and religion. 

"Concerned Jewish and non-Jewish members of Oak Park and River Forest are counting on the AG’s office to ensure that the students at OPRFHS are provided with a safe and welcoming learning environment that they are legally entitled to and that every student deserves."