Hillcrest High School students wave Palestinian flag and destroy property protesting teacher’s support of Israel; teacher forced to hide in locked office

The New York Post reported that students at Hillcrest High School in New York participated in a “pre-planned protest” that lasted for nearly two hours over a “teacher’s Facebook profile photo showing her at a pro-Israel rally on Queens Oct. 9 holding a poster saying, ‘I stand with Israel.'” One student explained: “A bunch of kids decided to make a group chat, expose her, talk about it, and then talk about starting a riot.” The New York Post added that “hundreds of kids flooded into hallways and ran amok, chanting, jumping, shouting, and waving Palestinian flags or banners.” The teacher reportedly had to “hide in a locked office as the teen mob tried to push its way into her classroom.”

The protest occurred on November 20, 2023. The New York Post shared images of the students in the school’s hallways, including images of students waving Palestinian flags. Students told the New York Post that other students were shouting “Free Palestine” and that the teacher “needs to go.” Students also reportedly vandalized portions of the school, such as a water fountain ripped from a wall. The newspaper reported:

The NYPD not only sent a couple dozen cops to restore order but tapped its counterterrorism bureau to investigate a possible threat against the school, according to City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Queens), citing officials.

The teacher provided the following statement to the New York Post:

I have been a teacher for 23 years in the New York City public school system — for the last seven at Hillcrest High School. I have worked hard to be supportive of our entire student body and an advocate for our community, and was shaken to my core by the calls to violence against me that occurred online and outside my classroom last week.