Philadelphia teacher ‘reassigned offsite’ while public school district investigates alleged Jew-hatred

Keziah Ridgeway released names of local Jewish leaders and suggested in online posts that gun owners should target Jews, per a complaint filed with the School District of Philadelphia

Published Sep 07, 2024  •  3 minute read

Northeast High School in Philadelphia is shown in this image. Photo by Mr. Matté /Wikimedia

(September 6, 2024 / JNS) — A Philadelphia public school teacher with a history of anti-Israel statements made online threats against parents of Jewish students, according to a complaint that the Deborah Project filed, on behalf of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, with the School District of Philadelphia.

Keziah Ridgeway, who teaches at Northeast High School, is accused of naming previously-anonymous School District of Philadelphia Jewish Family Association leaders on social media and “fulminating that they had disobeyed her demand that they cease protesting against her antisemitism,” per the Deborah Project.

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Omar Crowder, principal of Northeast High, sent an email to families on Friday stating that an unnamed staff member “will be reassigned offsite” while an investigation is conducted into a complaint about a “Northeast High School staff member,” who “made statements on social media that may violate school district policy,” per a copy of the email that a source shared with JNS.

JNS sought comment from the School District of Philadelphia, which has an enrollment of nearly 200,000 across 330 schools, and from Northeast High, which is part of the district.

“The school district is committed to creating a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for all students, staff and families,” Crowder added in the email. “We have a plan in place to ensure that the academic needs of affected classes are met.”

“The plan for additional support, for both students and staff, is forthcoming,” he wrote. “Given the ongoing investigation and personal considerations, we cannot provide additional details at this time.”

Ridgeway is accused of “goading the Jewish parents with, ‘Ain’t no fun when the rabbit got the,’” and then inserting “an emoji for a human face with finger on lips—making clear that she was talking about a ‘gun,’” according to the Deborah Project, a public interest law firm.

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The teacher reportedly also asked in a post if there were black-owned gun shops “in or near Philly? Asking for a friend.”

“It’s disgraceful that the Philadelphia School District has known about this aggressively antisemitic school teacher and has failed to rein in her profanity-laced, hateful public comments targeting Jewish families and students in the District,” stated Lori Lowenthal Marcus, legal director of the Deborah Project.

“Now Ridgeway has resorted to threats of gun use against Jewish parents. What will it take for the Philadelphia School District to respond?” she added.

The Deborah Project shared screenshots with JNS of posts that it said were from Ridgeway, in which she called Zionism racism and said the Jewish state commits genocide.

Michael Balaban, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, told JNS that “every student has the right to learn in a safe environment and receive a fair and balanced education without being subject to ethnic intimidation.”

“It is time for the Philadelphia School District to uphold these standards to support students of all backgrounds,” Balaban said. “This is only one example of a teacher who has been allowed to express their bias against Israel publically on social media and in school settings, creating an increasingly unsafe environment for Jewish students.”

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Christina Clark, communications officer for the School District of Philadelphia, told JNS that the district is aware of the complaint.

“The district strives to create safe, welcoming and inclusive learning environments for all of our students, staff and families,” Clark said. “Threats of violence towards our school communities are not tolerated and we work closely with the appropriate authorities when handling these situations.”

Ridgeway is associated with Jewish Voice for Peace and American Muslims for Palestine, according to Canary Mission, a Jew-hatred watchdog.

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