On December 15, Assistant Principal of Organization Ellen Fee emailed the school community about “a troubling and hurtful act” directed towards students in the Jewish Festival of Nations (FON) group. A follow-up email sent to parents asking for clarification explained that a Jewish FON poster displayed in the main stairwell was torn down on December 10. After the administration replaced the poster, it was torn down a second time in what “[the administration] believes was an intentional act,” the email said.

The poster was on a wall alongside posters advertising multiple other FON cultural groups. With the annual FON performances scheduled for early February, various student FON groups have formed to perform dances from their culture, and each group has been advertising with posters in the hopes that students will join their teams. 

According to senior and Jewish FON leader Natalie Tamma, the leaders discovered that the replaced poster had been torn down just a few bands after they reported the original poster being torn down.

The poster was moved higher up to prevent it from being torn down again. Nonetheless, Ms. Fee confirmed that the poster was torn down for a third time on December 22, a week after the school community received the email about the initial incident. In response, “The entire display has since been moved to the lobby in view of cameras and safety agents,” according to the clarification email, which was sent by Parent Coordinator Jodie Lasoff.  

The leaders of Jewish FON spoke to The Classic about these incidents. 

“Seeing these incidents happen, it made me realize I don’t really feel as welcome in a sense,” said Natalie. “Don’t get me wrong, all these clubs that I’m part of and whatnot, I feel welcome in that sense, but I feel like I don’t want to be targeted just because I’m Jewish.” 

“I have friends that don’t want to join Jewish FON because they are scared of what’s going to happen if they go on stage,” said junior Rachel Aronbayev, another leader of Jewish FON. “They are scared they are going to be hated on or bullied because they openly say they’re Jewish.” 

In an interview with The Classic, Principal Brian Condon said that the school’s deans have been actively investigating to find out who has been tearing down the posters, but they have yet to determine who is behind it. 

Dean Timothy Connor said that the deans have been looking at everything from what time people get into the building to class attendance records in conducting the investigation. He said they looked at what footage might be useful using the security cameras, but since the posters were in an area without cameras, he suggested it be moved to an area they could monitor more closely.

“We don’t have any leads,” said Mr. Condon. “One of the things I’m actually sort of disappointed in is that no student has come forward to tell us who may have done this.”

Mr. Connor said that eyewitnesses have stepped forward in the past to tell them what happened regarding other incidents. “That’s normally how things get settled,” he said.

Looking ahead, Mr. Condon said that the school administration reached out to the school borough safety director so that there will be an “increased uniform presence” of school safety agents at the FON performances when compared to previous years. 

He also said that, absent finding out who is behind the incident, he has considered multiple ways to address the incident including the potential cancellation of FON. 

“Now, there’s a lot of time and money and effort and cultural importance that FON has for our community, but if we can’t behave properly, and if every one of us doesn’t help find out who did this and let the administration know so we can take action, then I don’t know that we should be doing FON,” said Mr. Condon. “If we can’t celebrate each other responsibly and kindly, then maybe we shouldn’t do it at all.”

Junior and Bollywood FON leader Uma Hardeo said that if a poster for Bollywood FON got torn down, she “would be upset because that is discrimination against [her culture].” 

Ms. Fee’s initial email said “The Festival of Nations is a cherished tradition that highlights the multicultural fabric of our school. It features students of many nationalities, ethnicities, religions, and identities coming together to celebrate one another” and that “[the administration] expects all students to uphold the principles that guide our community: treating one another with dignity, respecting different cultures and beliefs, and contributing to an environment where every student feels safe and valued.” 

“We need to keep in mind that all students need to have respect and dignity towards any culture and any religion. [Students in FON] are putting their vulnerability…out into the open because they want [other] students to learn about stuff that they wouldn’t usually see in their day-to-day lives,” Uma said. 

“If it’s specifically being noticed that Jewish FON posters are being torn down, that seems very targeted, ” said junior and Chinese Modern FON leader Vanessa Lee. “I’m not sure why someone would do that, but obviously it’s not in a positive manner.”  

Senior and Jewish FON leader Jordan Kontente said that this incident was evidence that the growing trend of antisemitism in the wider world includes Townsend Harris. “Antisemitism is on the rise, and Townsend Harris is definitely not exempt from antisemitism,” she said. 

In addition to the posters being torn down, Jordan cited an incident in a previous school year where an Israeli flag that was hanging up in a social studies classroom as part of an international display was torn down. Mr. Condon confirmed that the incident regarding the flag did happen and was investigated, yet they were unable to determine the person who tore the flag down due to circumstances similar to the current poster situation. 

Jordan said that she “thinks the person who [tore down the posters] probably wants us to be scared and afraid, but I think we’re going to do the exact opposite, and we’re even more proud to represent Jewish FON.”