Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, the school may be a den of antisemitism as far as I know but I think it’s disingenuous to refer to the kids as having identified Hitler as a “strong historical leader” without adding the context that it was in regard to course work about Machiavelli and characteristics he espoused.

Yeah there's no "context" that makes it a good idea to identify Hitler as a strong historical leader ffs.

I agree it’s not okay and the teacher should have headed this off (with explanations to the involved kids) but of course the context matters for understanding-it’s not like kids were doing Rosa parks, FDR, and one group did this.

Anonymous wrote:Look, the school may be a den of antisemitism as far as I know but I think it’s disingenuous to refer to the kids as having identified Hitler as a “strong historical leader” without adding the context that it was in regard to course work about Machiavelli and characteristics he espoused.

Yeah there's no "context" that makes it a good idea to identify Hitler as a strong historical leader ffs.

Re: "As a lawyer..." Give the complaint a more detailed read, through a strategic lens, and pay attention to the dates.

As to "the image" one need only look at the actual assignment posted above and screenshot circulated on Twitter by Nysmith students -to recognize that the AG complaint is deliberately structured for maximum outrage.

If you are familiar with Machiavelli's "The Prince," reading that assignment should leave you feeling completely manipulated. It reads as an obvious lesson in political realism and the dangers of certain leadership traits. If you aren't bothered by how this has been presented to you in the complaint, then perhaps you need to take a step back and consider your own biases.

Those parents, and these prestigious firms you speak of, deliberately and completely collapsed context to paint those students (nay, "the community") as little hitler worshippers. We call that manufacturing a narrative, and in hindsight my skepticism meter should have been raising alarm bells from the word go.

Nobody- absolutely nobody- was celebrating Hitler or even making the suggestion of "strong leadership." Heck, if you read the assignment, it's not even Hitler, but a conglomeration of "current and historical figures."

So far as I'm concerned, this undermines the entire complaint, and it serves as a reminder that everything it alleges should be taken with a grain of salt. It's from a single perspective of two scorned parents speculating about a lot of things they wouldn't be in a postion to know. And at the heart of the matter is an eleven year old girl in emotional distress at a vulnerable age.

Let's not pretend that the purported prestige of a lawfirm conveys due diligence and veracity. A legal complaint is merely that. Nysmith hasn't been served with anything. There's been no investigation of any sort because that is what the complaint is requesting. It's on the AG to investigate. The strategy of that complaint should be obvious, but unfortunately for Nysmith, outrage moves quickly and truth takes time.

Anonymous wrote:

In their efforts to label every criticism of Israel as "anti Semitic", certain people have made the rest of the world more prone to dismiss real attacks against Jews. It's really sad.

LOL the rest of the world clearly doesn’t need an excuse to dismiss real attacks against Jews.

Also, as I’ve mentioned on other threads, in all my many years as a Jewish Zionist who has been to Israel many times and associated with many other Jewish Zionists, I have NEVER, and I mean NEVER met someone who thinks simply criticizing the Israeli government is antisemitic. That would be absurd. No one criticizes the Israeli government more than Israelis.

Meanwhile, antizionists CONSTANTLY say blatantly antisemitic things (Israel = Nazi Germany, the state of Israel should cease to exist, etc.) and then as soon as they are confronted about it, go “you’re trying to silence me by crying antisemitism!!!” I literally can’t get through a single page of any post about Jews/Israel without seeing this tired bs trotted out.

It is a way of silencing Jews’ legitimate concerns about antisemitism and it’s not fooling anyone anymore.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As another poster said, it sounds like no adults acted well.

The Hitler drawing should not have been allowed by the teacher. There was probably some comments criticizing the state of Israel that the parents complaint about. And then it all snowballed from there, because everyone lost their tempers, including the Head.

I think we can all agree that the students who were expelled are the victims. Of all the adults.

If we are speculating I agree it’s very plausible there were comments about the state of Israel and equally plausible that there were or were also comments that the IDF is doing a bang up job and all the people they’ve killed are “bad guys.”

There is zero indication of this anywhere in the complaint. You literally just pulled this completely out of your a$$. What you’re doing here is justifying and minimizing antisemitism based on a story you made up in your head. Why? What is your agenda?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, the school may be a den of antisemitism as far as I know but I think it’s disingenuous to refer to the kids as having identified Hitler as a “strong historical leader” without adding the context that it was in regard to course work about Machiavelli and characteristics he espoused.

The Prince wasn't actually saying what everyone now thinks The Prince was saying.

Regardless, I think there are ways to have lessons about even Machiavelli and Hitler that don’t include young children producing and proudly posing with an enormous portrait of Hitler.

Anonymous wrote:This happened to us. We reported our child being mistreated by teachers (literally being bullied and shamed in front of peers) and Nysmith defended his teachers to the death. We were counseled out. We almost went to the press and now wish we had. This is his MO: he gets rid of any families who claim their child is being bullied.

You should reach out to Justin Dillon, the lawyer handling the case.

Lots of folks on this thread pointing out that this is just a complaint and should be taken with a grain of salt. As a lawyer, I know this better than most. But the law firms involved in this particular case are very well regarded and would not have taken a case like this unless they could be assured it was meritorious. Having worked on the plaintiff’s side, I can tell you that there’s a lot of pre-complaint vetting that goes on at legitimate firms. This case appears to have scads of documentary evidence backing it up, plus unbiased third-party witnesses willing to back up the complainants.

I absolutely would not write this off as just unsupported allegations/a money grab. There is definitely something to this.

Anonymous wrote:Look, the school may be a den of antisemitism as far as I know but I think it’s disingenuous to refer to the kids as having identified Hitler as a “strong historical leader” without adding the context that it was in regard to course work about Machiavelli and characteristics he espoused.

The Prince wasn't actually saying what everyone now thinks The Prince was saying.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Complaints are always one-sided. I can't imagine a school that has been around as long as Nysmith that would not be measured in its response when claims of anti-Semitism are made, especially in this political environment. Expelling the students seems like a radical thing to do - there must have been some reason. So - I take this complaint with a grain of salt and look forward to the school's side of the story before prejudging.

There is no justifying or rationalizing the behavior of this principal. In the pettiest way possible he expelled three kids in the middle of the school year, under --at minimum-- highly questionable circumstances.

"By March 13, Nysmith decided to expel all three Jewish family members from the school.

"After reflecting on our emotional conversation on Tuesday, the words used make it clear that you have a profound lack of trust in both me and the school," Nysmith wrote, according to a copy of the email included in the complaint. "I felt very clearly that you do not think Nysmith is the right school for your family, and the longer we try to ignore that reality, the more pain it will cause your children. With this in mind, I regret to inform you that today will be your children’s last day at Nysmith."

Source: https://freebeacon.com/america/prestigious-virginia-k-8-school-hit-with-civil-rights-complaint-over-environment-hostile-to-jews/

Exactly this. To dismiss the family, effective immediately, apparently without warning or even a previous conversation, is suspect.

It sounds like there were other conversations.

It sounds like there was an “emotional” exchange, and I wonder if the parents crossed the lines of civility. I have seen private school parents yell at administrators and have heard of parents posing threats, including against the administrators’ family members.

I can see the parents being upset and angry given the provocations and what may have been an egregiously incompetent response to anti-Semitism. However, the one power that private schools have that public’s don’t is that they sign a contract that says their kids can be booted out for any reason at the discretion of the Head of School.

What I read between the lines is that the parents may have insulted the HOS, possibly called him an incompetent idiot (which he probably is). Unfortunately, you don’t get to disrespect a HOS and stay at his school.

His and Nysmith’s defense will probably be that they were trying to respond to the bullying but that the parents’ behavior was unacceptable. The contract will back Nysmith up legally, which is why hr HOS probably felt comfortable booting them out.

Not saying it’s right. Just saying this is the private school playbook. I’ve seen it be used against people of color for years. Your child can be the victim of blatant, horrible racism but god forbid you raise your voice in a meeting with the HOS.

Where exactly is the "line of civility" for a Jewish parent who watched his kids endure this? I'd be in there guns blazing if a school allowed this type of behavior.

You can’t raise your voice. You can’t insult the HOS. You can’t be anything but calm and perfectly in control.

Again, not saying this is right. It’s just the way it works.

Reading the complaint, Paragraph 26 asserts the parents did not raise their voices or speak disrespectfully to the HOS.

However, the HOS seems to have heard something they said as calling him anti-Semitic.

Disrespect is subjective. Being an a$$hole and not letting a child pick up a prize they earned or their personal possessions until a suitable time is unfortunately not illegal. The first time I dealt with a discrimination case, a senior lawyer told me that unfortunately being an a$$hole is not actionable. Sadly, this is true.

Brandeis may have taken the case on not because they could win it but because it’s a case where anti-Semitism is hiding behind the protective walls of private school independence. Even if no damages are won, plaintiffs win something by damaging Nysmith the school and Nysmith the HOS’ reputations.

The photo of the kids smiling around a life-size drawing of Hitler is shocking.

However, unless plaintiffs can prove that Nysmith took no measures to address the anti-Semitism, which will be nearly impossible, the case will turn on the contract in which parents agree that they and their children can be dismissed from a school for any reason deemed suitable by the HOS. I haven’t seen Nysmith’s specific contract but almost all private school contracts contain this clause.

Unless, of course, you are a big donor. Then you can do more or less what you want.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Complaints are always one-sided. I can't imagine a school that has been around as long as Nysmith that would not be measured in its response when claims of anti-Semitism are made, especially in this political environment. Expelling the students seems like a radical thing to do - there must have been some reason. So - I take this complaint with a grain of salt and look forward to the school's side of the story before prejudging.

There is no justifying or rationalizing the behavior of this principal. In the pettiest way possible he expelled three kids in the middle of the school year, under --at minimum-- highly questionable circumstances.

"By March 13, Nysmith decided to expel all three Jewish family members from the school.

"After reflecting on our emotional conversation on Tuesday, the words used make it clear that you have a profound lack of trust in both me and the school," Nysmith wrote, according to a copy of the email included in the complaint. "I felt very clearly that you do not think Nysmith is the right school for your family, and the longer we try to ignore that reality, the more pain it will cause your children. With this in mind, I regret to inform you that today will be your children’s last day at Nysmith."

Source: https://freebeacon.com/america/prestigious-virginia-k-8-school-hit-with-civil-rights-complaint-over-environment-hostile-to-jews/

Exactly this. To dismiss the family, effective immediately, apparently without warning or even a previous conversation, is suspect.

It sounds like there were other conversations.

It sounds like there was an “emotional” exchange, and I wonder if the parents crossed the lines of civility. I have seen private school parents yell at administrators and have heard of parents posing threats, including against the administrators’ family members.

I can see the parents being upset and angry given the provocations and what may have been an egregiously incompetent response to anti-Semitism. However, the one power that private schools have that public’s don’t is that they sign a contract that says their kids can be booted out for any reason at the discretion of the Head of School.

What I read between the lines is that the parents may have insulted the HOS, possibly called him an incompetent idiot (which he probably is). Unfortunately, you don’t get to disrespect a HOS and stay at his school.

His and Nysmith’s defense will probably be that they were trying to respond to the bullying but that the parents’ behavior was unacceptable. The contract will back Nysmith up legally, which is why hr HOS probably felt comfortable booting them out.

Not saying it’s right. Just saying this is the private school playbook. I’ve seen it be used against people of color for years. Your child can be the victim of blatant, horrible racism but god forbid you raise your voice in a meeting with the HOS.

I’ve never in my life heard of elementary students kicked out of school mid year exclusively based on an interaction with the parents. What kind of absolute power trip is this guy on

Nysmith tried to kick out our student with 6 weeks of the school year left when we complained about an old battle ax teacher who was verbally abusing second grade students. He’s a monster and capable of anything.

Well, the plaintiffs and their counsel would benefit from you reaching out to support their case.

This happened to us. We reported our child being mistreated by teachers (literally being bullied and shamed in front of peers) and Nysmith defended his teachers to the death. We were counseled out. We almost went to the press and now wish we had. This is his MO: he gets rid of any families who claim their child is being bullied.

I started at Nysmith in 2nd grade the year it opened in the small 3-room Roundhouse in Reston. I always loved Mrs. Ny but never warmed up to Ken even though as students we had plenty of interaction with him (daily as a van driver, doing lots of administrative odd jobs, etc). Maybe children have good instincts.

Anonymous wrote:In reading the complaint and seeing the picture, I don't know how the school can have allowed it. Even if some of the things in the complaint are exaggerated, that picture speaks volumes. I am absolutely horrified at this. I also wonder if there is more than anti Semitism at play since both parents are men, so clearly a same sex couple....

there's a link to the complaint with the image here: https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Vazquez-and-Roy-v.-Nysmith-School.-Virginia-Attorney-General-Office-of-Civil-Rights_Redacted-1.pdf

I am very pro Palestine and not supportive of Israel's actions, but this feels pretty cut and dry to me. Hitler - wrong. Anti Semitism - wrong. Teasing a child for being Jewish - wrong. End of story. There is not nuance around some things.

We can debate all day about whether or not Israel is perpetrating a genocide, whether or not anti Zionism is equivalent to anti Semitism, and many other things. But harassing a child (or any person) for being Jewish, doing class projects about Hitler? Come on. This is obviously unacceptable.

+1 I came here to say the same.

--Not Jewish, not Zionist.