A pro-Palestinian high school walkout was canceled after local Democratic officials penned a scathing letter to the superintendent calling on the school to protect Jewish students from the intentionally “hostile and isolating environment” created by similar events.
The “school approved walkout” at Eastern Regional High School was slated for Friday, the fifth day of Passover, and will be replaced with a “rally for peace” on May 20. Militant anti-Israel protests have engulfed schools around the country over the last week, resulting in many arrests.
“The planned ‘Pro-Palestinian’ walkout is fueled by anti-Israeli rhetoric which is unacceptable for your school to endorse,” the Camden County Democrats wrote in their letter. “To do so during the holy days of Passover makes your decision even more intolerable.”
Despite initially being a student-only event, flyers were distributed inviting the whole community to join the rally. Voorhees Township police were “called in” to discuss security for the event, according to the author of the letter, Jason Nash.
“This is going to now cause Voorhees Township to commit resources from public safety to make sure the walkout remains peaceful. This is going to cost taxpayer dollars,” Voorhees Township deputy mayor Jason Ravitz said.
The letter authored by Nash and Melinda Kane mentioned that allowing such an event could put the school in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which could “jeopardize funding” for the school.
The Washington Examiner previously consulted with First Amendment scholars who explained that institutions of higher education allowing similar events indeed risk losing federal funding.
Nash and Kane referred to the anti-Jewish hostilities on college campuses in their letter, comparing the decisions of elite universities to allow such demonstrations to that of Eastern Regional High School. “In the name of free speech, your decision carelessly ignores the fact that you are unnecessarily causing fear and placing students in harm’s way,” they wrote.
A recent poll found that Jewish students by and large feel unsafe on campus as anti-Israel protests make their way onto school grounds across the country, coinciding with a 400% rise in antisemitic incidents.
“You have opened a door in allowing this walkout to occur, knowing that you cannot thereafter police the anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric that will undoubtedly follow,” the South Jersey officials wrote.
Even though the initial event was canceled, Voorhees police Capt. Carmen Del Palazzo said the police department will have extra patrols around the school on Friday.
Tom Logue, speaking on behalf of Eastern Regional High School, told the Washington Examiner that after student leaders met with the school’s principal and vice principals yesterday, “those students informed the principal they would not stage the walkout, after discussing information about the serious and concerning rhetoric occurring on social media around this planned event.”
He said the new “united” rally for peace planned for May 20 “is intended to demonstrate support for innocent people on both sides of the conflict. A plan has been established with the Voorhees Township police to ensure the safety of our students and the security of our campus.”
Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ), who was CC’d on the letter to the superintendent, said the decision to cancel the event was “appropriate” due to its timing in taking place during Passover.
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“Many of our Jewish friends and neighbors in New Jersey have ties to Israel and lost loved ones in the October 7th massacre,” Norcross said. “The planned walkout would have undoubtedly exacerbated the pain of the Jewish community which includes many students, faculty, and staff at Eastern High School.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Eastern Regional High School superintendent for comment.