BEVERLY HILLS (CNS) – Schools in the Beverly Hills Unified School District will display the flag of Israel for one month every year to signal support for the Jewish community after a Board of Education vote Tuesday night.
The board approved the controversial proposal 3-2, with members Rachelle Marcus and Amanda Stern voting no. Marcus was concerned that displaying the flag would make schools a target, while Stern said “partisan material” such as a national flag does not belong in a public school resolution.
The proposal proclaims May as Jewish Heritage Month and calls for display of the Israeli flag at each BHUSD school and facility throughout the month of May every year. It’s part of a resolution to combat antisemitism that mixes Holocaust education, lessons on Jewish history and remembrance of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.
“This should be a no-brainer for a school district that represents one of the only Jewish-majority communities outside of Israel,” Beverly Hills Vice Mayor John Mirisch said at Tuesday’s meeting.
Board member Russell Stewart said the flag display is “not against anyone. It is in support of our Jewish students and the Jewish community.”
The move has drawn opposition from some who worry that it appears to favor one religion, and one nation currently engaged in a brutal war in Gaza in which many Palestinian civilians have been killed.
“This proposal conflates Jewish faith and identity with the political actions of a foreign government and undermines the inclusive and respectful environment that public schools are meant to foster for all students, regardless of their background,” Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said before Tuesday’s vote.
“It is deeply insensitive and distressing to Palestinian students who have lost countless family members to Israel’s violent military campaign and the man-made humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”
Andrea Grossman, a mother of three children who have attended BHUSD schools, also opposed the resolution.
“Beverly Hills is a public school district in a diverse city with more than one religion with more than one ethnic group,” Grossman said, The Times reported. “Your resolution would be appropriate in a Jewish day school, in a private school, not funded by taxpayer dollars.”
The resolution was first presented on Aug. 5, when it appeared to have support from all five board members, but it was sent back to revise some wording, including changing the reason for displaying the flag. According to the Los Angeles Times, the original wording mentioned “support for the Jewish state,” but that was changed to “support for the Jewish community.”
The revised resolution “affirms BHUSD’s commitment to an inclusive and respectful learning environment by supporting education and awareness around Jewish history, culture, and the fight against antisemitism,” according to a statement on the district’s website.
District officials clarified that Israeli flags would not be mounted on flagpoles alongside the traditional U.S. and California flags, but would be displayed elsewhere on campuses.
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