Virginia K-8 School Hit With Civil Rights Complaint, School Environment Is 'Hostile to Jews'

Since the October 7, 2023, attack on Israelis by the terror group Hamas, the rise in antisemitism, not just around the world, but even in the U.S., has been, to say the least, disturbing. Here in America, the epicenter has been on college campuses and universities, where anti-Israel pro-Hamas protests broke out almost immediately after the attack. But as those protests migrate from college campuses to the streets of America, it is not just college students being exposed to virulent antisemitism. It is happening to much younger children as well, and in places you might not think it would happen.

Growing up as a Jew, I felt extremely safe and never ever imagined a rise in antisemitism.

Today, we are witnessing levels of antisemitism that hasn’t been seen since the Holocaust.

How far will it go?
— Rabbi David Schlusselberg (@RavSchluss) June 29, 2025

The Nysmith School in Virginia is one of the most prestigious K-8 schools in the nation, among the top ten of its kind. Many of its students go on to attend Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Falls Church. On Tuesday, the Nysmith School received a civil rights complaint alleging that it expelled three Jewish students after the students' parents had complained about antisemitic harassment.

It all started in March of this year, when Brian Vasquez and Ashok Roy's three Jewish children were expelled from the school. According to the complaint, Vasquez and Roy had complained to the school about an "unwillingness to respond to anti-Semitic harassment of their 11-year-old daughter." The complaint alleges that the school encouraged an environment "that is hostile to Jews." It also alleges that the school "allowed anti-Semitism to take root" in one instance, in the form of a social studies project in which the students promoted Adolf Hitler as a "strong historical leader." The project was then "shared with the entire school community," which led to "a pattern of persistent and severe anti-Semitic harassment."

The bullying of Vasquez and Roy's children began after the October 7 attack. The complaint goes on to explain that when the school's founder, Kenneth R. Nysmith, "decided to hang a Palestinian flag in the school gym, the harassment of their daughter grew more severe." When Vasquez and Roy complained, Nysmith told them their daughter needed to "toughen up" and ended their meeting. Vasquez and Roy then received an email stating, "that all three children were expelled effective immediately, days before their mid-semester report cards, and long after the application periods for other local schools had passed."

There’s no place for antisemitism in Virginia. Thank you for your leadership, Mr. Attorney General. https://t.co/VzOQWtwrf7
— Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) July 1, 2025

It appears that antisemitism was the main lesson being taught at the school, as students placed "pro-Palestine stickers on school-issued laptops and lockers," and the Vasquez/Roy children were mocked for being "Israeli." The complaint continues, saying that the 11-year-old:

broke down in tears and said the bullying had become worse. The Palestinian flag provoked more aggressive bullying and harassment. Classmates cited it as evidence that ‘everyone hates Jews,’ taunting her that ‘we won’ and that the flag was proof that ‘nobody likes you.’

ALSO READ: Solidarity Stops at the Jew

The complaint was filed with the office of Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law. Brandeis Chairman Kenneth Markus had this to say about the school's horrifying actions:

"The actions of Nysmith School against these three young children are disgraceful. Through its actions, the administration sent a clear message: bullying is acceptable, as long as it’s against Jewish families."

What is equally shocking is that in 2023, in K-12 schools, antisemitic incidents increased a whopping 135 percent. Looks as though younger students have their older college and university-age counterparts to thank for the antisemitic indoctrination, not to mention the media, which have given it plenty of airtime and all but normalized it. But the biggest question is: who are the monsters who think this is an acceptable thing to teach children?

For the left in America, their antisemitism has been percolating for quite a while. Now, they clearly no longer feel the need to hide it.

A Seattle family is suing Washington state's largest school district, claiming the administration failed to stop or respond to rampant antisemitic harassment that ultimately led a student to leave her high school.https://t.co/rcOAeO2dlH
— KOMO News (@komonews) June 26, 2025

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