Hundreds of “radicalized” students ran rampant through the halls of Hillcrest High School in Jamaica, Queens, for nearly two hours this past Monday, prompted by a teacher’s attendance at a pro-Israel rally. The teacher herself had to hide during the rampage to avoided being lynched. The controversy centered around the teacher’s Facebook profile photo, which displayed her at a pro-Israel rally on October 9th, holding a poster declaring, “I stand with Israel.” A group of students subsequently organized a chat to advertise the teacher’s attendance at the rally, leading to discussions about staging a protest. As a result, chaos ensued as hundreds of students poured into the hallways, chanting, jumping, shouting, and waving Palestinian flags and banners. Despite the efforts of school staff to block their entry, many students attempted to barge into the teacher’s classroom. Witnesses told the NY Post that the protest was characterized by chants of “Free Palestine!” and calls for the teacher’s firing. School administrators and the NYPD were alerted to the situation just in time to escort the teacher to safety, locking her in an office as the chaos unfolded. The situation escalated as some students vandalized the school, with reports of a water fountain being torn out and damage to the second-floor boys’ bathroom. The NYPD responded, deploying a significant number of officers to restore order. They also involved their counterterrorism bureau to investigate a potential threat to the school. School authorities, with the assistance of a sergeant stationed at the school, eventually managed to corral the students back into classrooms. The situation took a further disturbing turn when it was alleged that some students had accessed the teacher’s personal information, including her address and phone number. This incident, lasting approximately two hours, stands out as one of the most alarming instances of antisemitism in New York schools and colleges in recent memory. NYC Mayor Adams tweeted the following: “The vile show of antisemitism at Hillcrest High School was motivated by ignorance-fueled hatred, plain and simple, and it will not be tolerated in any of our schools, let alone anywhere else in our city. We are better than this.” It comes on the heels of a pro-Palestinian citywide walkout by nearly 700 NYC high school students on November 9th, during which some students were captured on video making antisemitic statements. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)