A Jewish NYC high school senior received numerous antisemitic hate comments after her university decision to study in Israel was shared on Instagram, the New York Post reported on Saturday.
The student-run account for Brooklyn Technical High School's Class of 2025, which shared college plans for graduating students, had to be taken down following the numerous hate-filled comments received by the Jewish senior.
According to the NYP, the Jewish student, whose name has been withheld for privacy reasons, announced her intention to enroll in a dual degree program at Columbia University and Tel Aviv University.
While some comments were positive, wishing her congratulations, hundreds of others responded with hate.
“Nothing to be proud of,” one comment read.
Another comment, referring to Hitler, added, “Man with mustache was right.”
A classmate also shared her college announcement on his own Instagram story, blocking most of the image with a Palestinian flag.
'Not affecting me, but the whole Jewish community at school'
In an exclusive interview with the NYP, the 17-year-old stated, “It’s not only really affecting me, but the whole Jewish community at school.”
She told the NYP that she wasn’t entirely surprised by the backlash: “I was caught off guard, but I’m not totally surprised because this has happened with my school before,” she said. “After October 7, I would voice my opinions, and people knew where I stood, especially being Jewish and Israeli, and people would harass me online.”
Before the school shut down the @bths25decisions Instagram account, its moderators posted a story stating: “We do not condone any degree of antisemitism or Zionism. We will do our best to refrain from taking any political stances, and any deviation from this policy can be attributed to human error.”
The Jewish senior said that despite the hate, she’s not deterred: “I’m excited to experience both Tel Aviv and Columbia,” she said. “I’m not really scared because I feel like I’ve gone through enough — I know how to handle it.”
According to the NYP, the New York City Department of Education said the school acted quickly upon learning of the incident. It launched an investigation and is “taking the necessary steps to respond.”
“Any form of antisemitism, bullying, or hatred has absolutely no place in our schools, communities, or online,” a department spokesperson told the NYP.
