San Leandro School District Hit With Lawsuit Alleging Antisemitic Bullying: Report

SAN LEANDRO, CA — A Jewish San Leandro High School senior is suing the district, claiming she was the subject of "unrelenting" antisemitic bullying from other students following the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023, according to a report from the San Francisco Chronicle.

"San Leandro Unified School District is aware of the lawsuit and, because it is an active legal matter, cannot comment at this time," Keziah Moss, a spokesperson with the San Leandro Unified School District, told Patch.

Eden Horwitz, part of San Leandro High School’s Social Justice Academy, alleges students in her program began taking a pro-Palestinian stance while disparaging Jewish students following the Oct. 7 attacks, according to the report.

Students demanded Horwitz answer for the genocide of Palestinians and used Zionist as a slur, according to the report, which cites the lawsuit.

The bullying, which went on over the course of two years, led to Horwitz developing panic attacks, lower grades and prompted her to stop wearing her Star of David necklace out of fear, according to the report.

"Faculty didn’t just ignore the antisemitic abuse — they fueled it," Ryan Weinstein of the Boston firm Ropes & Gray, which represents the student, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "And when confronted with the truth, the District didn’t investigate; it retaliated."

Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.