Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the K12 Antisemitism topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Former councilor says East Hampton school district failed Jewish students; calls for state investigation and clearer reporting pathways
Summary
Former East Hampton city councilor Owen Zarratt testified that repeated antisemitic incidents — swastika graffiti, Nazi salutes and taunts — were minimized or concealed by local officials and called on the attorney general's office, DESE and the Legislature to require independent investigation and clearer reporting mechanisms.
Owen Zarratt, a former East Hampton city councilor and Jewish community organizer, told the Massachusetts Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism that his repeated efforts to escalate local school‑district antisemitic incidents were met with minimization, concealment and, he said, retaliation.
Zarratt described multiple incidents reported to him over more than a year: swastika graffiti at elementary, middle and high schools; a high school student’s notebook containing "I hate Jews"; and a Jewish child who received Nazi salutes and taunts such as "here comes the Jew." The child, Zarratt said, removed and stopped wearing his Star of David and ultimately left the public school and was homeschooled because he did not feel safe.
Zarratt recounted that school officials asked him not to publicize incidents, and that elected leaders and school administrators minimized or dismissed complaints. He said a municipal resolution he co‑sponsored against antisemitism passed unanimously but was not followed by the city council or mayor with actionable steps. Zarratt said he was later subject to an effort to censure him for his advocacy and resigned his council seat because he saw continued obstruction rather than remediation.
"This isn't bullying," Zarratt said in testimony. "This is antisemitism. It's aggression against Jews. The tolerance and enabling of these actions across the entirety of city government is deeply disturbing and a symptom of a deeper societal illness."
Zarratt recommended the commission request an independent review by the Attorney General's civil‑rights division or the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to determine whether Title VI or other civil‑rights thresholds were met, to clarify reporting pathways and to adopt straightforward definitions (he cited IHRA and similar frameworks). He also recommended clearer reporting requirements, stronger penalties for districts that conceal incidents, and more comprehensive Jewish education in schools beyond Holocaust instruction.
The Attorney General’s staff in the meeting invited Zarratt to file a formal complaint with the civil‑rights division and offered contact information for follow‑up.
