Students Make 'Antisemitic Salute' At MoCo High School

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — A group of students at Montgomery Blair High School were seen filming themselves during lunch period last Wednesday “performing an antisemitic salute,” according to the school’s principal.

Montgomery Blair Principal Renay Johnson said in a letter to families of students who attend the high school that a report was made to the Montgomery County Police Department.

“We are conducting thorough investigations to understand the motivations behind this behavior and to prevent any future incidents,” Johnson said in the Sept. 22 letter. “We take this incident seriously, as it goes against our school's core values of respect, tolerance, and inclusion.”

In the letter, Johnson did not say what type of “antisemitic salute” the students performed — whether it was, for example, the type of salute with the arm raised known as a Nazi salute or Hitler salute.

"One of our students reported witnessing a distressing incident during our lunch period. A group of students were observed outside filming themselves performing an antisemitic salute," she wrote.

When asked about the nature of the “antisemitic salute,” a Montgomery County Public Schools spokesman said no further information can be shared about the type of salute due to student privacy laws.

“It was described as offensive and antisemitic,” the spokesman said. “The letter stands for what is information is available.

READ ALSO: Antisemitic Graffiti Found At Another Montgomery County Public School

The "OK" hand gesture, commonly seen as a way of indicating that all is well, also has now been classified as a symbol of hate. The Anti-Defamation League added the index finger-to-thumb sign that for some has become associated with white supremacy and the far right to its "Hate on Display" Database.

Johnson said Montgomery Blair will continue to have zero tolerance for hate or biased speech or gestures.

“Our Board of Education policy and MCPS regulations expressly prohibit the use of language, images, or symbols that promote hatred,” she said in the letter. “Furthermore, we expect every member of our school community, both students and staff, to treat one another with respect and dignity, regardless of their personal characteristics or differences.”

On Saturday, the American Jewish Committee expressed alarm over new figures that show anti-Jewish hate crimes and bias incidents in Maryland increased by 60 percent in 2022 over the previous year. A forthcoming Maryland Department of State Police Hate Bias Report shows there were 77 antisemitic incidents in 2022, compared to 48 in the state in 2021, according to the AJC.

The statistics were shared last Tuesday at the Central Maryland Hate Bias Forum, organized by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights, the Montgomery County Office of Human Rights, Howard County Office of Human Rights and Equity and Prince George’s County Office of Human Rights.

Alan Ronkin, American Jewish Committee regional director, said in a statement Saturday that bias and hate crimes are vastly underreported.

For example, in 2021 only 14 percent of police departments in Maryland reported hate crime data to the FBI. In addition, studies have found many Jews do not report antisemitism when it happens to them, he said.