Area Jewish organizations and Montgomery County residents this week blasted Montgomery County Public Schools and Superintendent Monifa McKnight over what they call delayed and “insufficient” statements on Hamas’ terror attacks on Israel.
After MCPS late Tuesday posted a broad, unsigned statement on its website supporting families, two Jewish organizations on Wednesday afternoon released a joint statement that criticized Superintendent Monifa McKnight by name. The district posted a signed statement from McKnight less than two hours later.
Hamas’ invasion began Saturday, at the end of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
As of today, the death toll has surged to more than 1,100 Israelis, with more than 3,000 wounded and over 150 held hostage, per the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA. Citing the Ministry of Health in Gaza, OCHA stated at least 830 Palestinians have been killed with another 4,250 injured.
Additionally, at least 22 Americans have been killed in Israel, according to the State Department.
MCPS posted a statement on its website Tuesday addressing the war amid growing sentiment from Jewish organizations and community members calling for a response. It linked to the response from its X (formerly Twitter) account but didn’t send it out to families using its text or email channels.
“Our heartfelt thoughts are with our students and their families, who may be experiencing the impact of the deeply disturbing and tragic violence in Israel and Gaza in a variety of ways. Our schools must be welcoming, safe, and secure places for all students,” MCPS stated. “Students and families may have ties to the region or may be subject to anxiety based on what they see in the news. This tragic series of events may also come on top of emotions triggered by other recent events.”
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, or JCRC, and the ADL issued a joint statement Wednesday afternoon expressing dissatisfaction with the responses from Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. school systems and singling out Montgomery County for its delayed and “inadequate” comment on the war.
“We reserve our greatest anger and disappointment for Montgomery County Public Schools. MCPS’ senior management has consistently ignored our agencies’ urgent appeals over the last three days to respond appropriately and sensitively to the large Jewish community in the district, insisting instead that principals alone shoulder the burden of a public response,” wrote the JCRC. “Meanwhile, Superintendent Dr. Monifa McKnight remained silent until the release of an inadequate statement last night.”
Calls late Wednesday to MCPS were not immediately returned.
Rockville resident Adam Zimmerman, who teaches a seventh grade Holocaust class at Temple Beth Ami in Rockville, said he was glad to see an eventual systemwide MCPS response though it lacked a necessary proactive stance. Zimmerman sent an Op-Ed to MoCo360 calling out the lack of response from MCPS.
“I’d like to see the district be more proactive in terms of giving people in our community more opportunities to help and respond and having discussions in classrooms instead of waiting on kids to bring it up and ask questions themselves,” Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman said the response from McKnight and MCPS took far too long, but it was better late than never.
“I’m glad to see they’re speaking more directly on the terrorist attack and that many families in our region are suffering from having families and friends in the affected area,” Zimmerman said. “I’m also glad to see they are making school counselors and social workers available for everyone that needs them.”
The JCRC called the school system’s statement infuriating and disheartening.
“Our school systems’ refusal to honestly name the largest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust is infuriating and disheartening to our entire community. A large number of local Jews have deep personal connections to Israel: they have loved ones who were murdered or are missing, they have children serving in the Israel Defense Forces who have been deployed, and they are seeing harrowing images of more than one thousand innocent civilians murdered simply because they were Jewish,” the JCRC stated. “Our offices have been flooded with hundreds of complaints and pleas for Jewish students, parents and educators to be seen and heard in their time of immense pain.”
Just before 4 p.m. Wednesday, MCPS shared a statement from McKnight.
“As we collectively continue to process these horrific and violent acts, I recognize that the situation in Israel and Gaza has affected many members of our community, including those who have family or friends in the region,” McKnight stated. “Their loss, grief and apprehensions for their loved ones’ safety are profound. It is impossible to ignore the fear and anxiety that many within our community are experiencing directly, and as they are exposed to stories of violence and the tragic loss of innocent lives through television, news outlets and social media.”
McKnight added that schools are offering resources for those in need.
“Please do not hesitate to reach out to our school counselors, social workers, or administrators if your child requires any support,” McKnight said.
Scott Goldberg, an MCPS parent of a third- and sixth-grader, who is also a former county Democratic party official and a 2022 candidate for County Council, stated in an email to MoCo360 that the school system’s provided resources were amazing, but the statement was lacking.
“I wish they would have included a strong specific statement of support for the Jewish, Palestinian, Israeli and all children with ties to the region,” Goldberg said.
Zimmerman said McKnight and MCPS is putting too much of the burden on students, parents and staff members.
“The overarching message I get [from MCPS] is ‘We are here to help if you need us,’ which puts the onus on the community as opposed to the district stating what they are doing,” Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman said McKnight’s statement also lacked a more forceful denunciation of violence either against the Jewish and Muslim members of the community.
“There needed to be a statement that any reprisals against either Jewish or Muslim students and staff is completely unacceptable,” Zimmerman said.
Also concerning to some community members was McKnight’s request to parents and teachers urging them to be vigilant regarding “distressing” social media content.
“We are all aware that such content is intended to amplify fear and can cause great emotional harm,” McKnight stated. “I urge you to talk with your children and students about the content they may currently be viewing and sharing.”
In an email to MoCo360, MCPS parent Elaine Akst said she was horrified by McKnight’s delay in addressing the terrorist attacks and the message about “amplifying fear.”
“The images are the evil truth, and without the truth, rampant antisemitism and comments about ‘both sides’ are the result,” Akst said. “We rely on the bravery of journalists and civilians to showcase the truth; turning off uncomfortable news is not the solution, nor should it ever be recommended by the superintendent of a school system. If Dr. McKnight is unable to recognize terrorism and call it out, just as she is unable to recognize and punish sexual harassment, she needs to be removed from her post immediately.”
Darci Rochkind, a senior at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School and co-president of the Jewish Student Union, described McKnight’s statement as disturbing.
“They teach us that we’re supposed to speak up for issues we’re passionate about but they’re encouraging our parents to literally silence us,” said Rochkind, who spent the summer in Beer Sheva — about 25 miles from Gaza. “It’s terrifying. I don’t know if the next notification on my phone is going to be from someone I know.”
Rochkind, who is also president of No Place For Hate, said Jewish student leaders at various schools including Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Walter Johnson, Walt Whitman, Montgomery Blair, Wheaton, Quince Orchard, Northwood, Richard Montgomery and Kennedy have been in group chats planning different events to aid the relief effort.
“We were hoping to get support from our school system and we saw this message today,” Rochkind said. “During the Holocaust the whole world was silenced. If you look at the music festival it resembles pictures of the holocaust. Encouraging students to remain quiet sets a dangerous precedent.”
In its statement, the JCRC called for McKnight and the MCPS to do a better job of listening to and understanding the needs of its Jewish communities.
“The coming days will likely only prove more painful, and we grieve for the loss of all innocent life, regardless of religion or national identity. But if our schools can’t call out the brutal murder of Jews right before our eyes, of what use is the Holocaust education and cultural competency that we have worked together to advance? You must do more. You must do it now.”
Staff Writer Elia Griffin contributed to this report.