Jewish leaders are calling for a boycott of the National Association of Independent Schools, an organization of 1,300 private schools in NYC as well as 60 Jewish day schools, after extensive displays of antisemitism at its annual People of Color Conference for educators.
Keynote speakers Dr. Suzanne Barakat and Ruha Benjamin were accused of using their platform to spew antisemitism, accusing Israel of “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” and downplaying the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks. One speaker gave a presentation on a virtual reality project entitled 'The Phoenix Of Gaza'.
The New York Post reports that representatives of multiple Jewish schools and organizations have since demanded that the conference be boycotted, and announced that they would be withdrawing their participation until proper action was taken to remedy the conference. Some called for the conference to at least invite a Jewish or Israeli speaker to provide a contrasting point of view, noting that the conference was themed around inclusivity.
A conference official later issued an apology, writing “There is no place for antisemitism at NAIS events, in our member schools, or in society.”