Salem Public Schools: Antisemitic Speech 'Will Not Be Tolerated'

SALEM, MA — Salem Public Schools' families will be receiving information on how to talk to students about antisemitism in light of what Superintendent Steve Zrike called "so-called celebrities" recently saying "hateful things" about Jewish people.

"There has been a rise in antisemitism throughout this area, throughout the country," Zrike said during his Facebook Live session with families on Wednesday. "I do think our young people are watching and seeing that there are folks in popular culture who are saying hateful things about the Jewish faith.

"It's important that we take a stand and remind our young people that's not an acceptable way to talk about one another."

The artist Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, last month blamed "Jewish media" and "Jewish Zionists" for "owning the Black voice" in the music industry, according to the Anti-Defamation League. West suffered fallout from the remarks, including loss of endorsements, though he later claimed the comments were not meant to bring harm to Jewish people.

Former Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving has been suspended for at least five games by the Brooklyn Nets after retweeting links to a film called "Hebrew to Negroes: Wake Up Black America," which includes antisemitic themes, to his 4.6 million Twitter followers.

Nets owner Joe Tsai called Irving "currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets" in a team statement after Irving declined the opportunity to publicly disavow the "specific hateful material in the film."

During the weekend of Sept. 11, a group of about a dozen masked people unfurled a banner on the Route 114 bridge in Danvers that included false claims about Jewish involvement in the 9-11 terrorist attacks on America.

"We stand in the Salem Public Schools and as a city as an anti-hate organization," Zrike said. "It's a time to remind our young people that kind of speech will not be tolerated."

Zrike encouraged parents and guardians to use the materials being distributed to help engage students in a conversation that confronts what he called "these so-called celebrities" and the "very derogatory things they have said about the Jewish community."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)