The question, “What happened to my Israeli flag?” refers to a flag I donated to Marblehead High School before the 2021-2022 school year. Marblehead’s school district had focused on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives under its administration. Due to rising antisemitism following the Israeli-Gaza War in 2021, I proposed displaying an Israeli flag alongside others in the school cafeteria. The superintendent agreed, and I delivered the flag to the principal.
In September 2023, I heard rumors that the flag had been removed during a school cleaning, but later learned a teacher may have hidden it. After the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, I contacted the acting superintendent, urging the flag’s return to show solidarity with Jewish students. She promised to address the issue with the interim superintendent, but I received no follow-up.
In March 2024, controversy arose when the Anti-Racism Task Force, a subcommittee within the Massachusetts Teachers Association, hosted a webinar presented by the group Jewish Voice for Peace, which promotes anti-Israel propaganda. Several speakers pushed anti-Israel bias during the virtual event. The webinar sparked outrage among Jewish educators. A subsequent webinar, hosted by the Israeli-American Civic Action Network, highlighted incidents of
antisemitism in Massachusetts schools. A Marblehead teacher claimed that a colleague had torn down the Israeli flag, calling it a “flag of oppression” and had harassed Jewish staff. The School Committee, prompted by community uproar, initiated an independent investigation into these allegations.
Amid the controversy, the accused teacher wrote a column in the Marblehead Current, denying antisemitism and attributing the accusations to a political agenda tied to the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of antisemitism. She claimed her work had always supported marginalized groups. However, Israeli students were excluded. In June, the School Committee pledged to launch an investigation into the incidents. By August, the teacher at the center of the controversy along with three other foreign language teachers who had publicly supported her at a School Committee meeting, had resigned, alleging a toxic work environment. The investigation into these incidents is ongoing.
Currently, while flags representing other marginalized groups are displayed at Marblehead High School, the Israeli flag remains absent, raising questions about a potential double standard in supporting Jewish students. Recently, the interim superintendent announced plans to establish an Anti-Discrimination Committee, with an initial focus on addressing antisemitism. This committee aims to provide professional development for staff, parents and students, review the curriculum for specific biases and establish more efficient reporting mechanisms and outcomes. While the
findings of the independent investigation into allegations of antisemitism are still pending, this initiative suggests that Marblehead school administrators are beginning to take proactive steps to address community concerns and provide concrete actions and implement tangible measures to combat antisemitism.
Karen Tal-Makhluf
Trager Road
