A New Jersey teacher is suing a Catholic school he taught for, claiming that they fired him after he complained about anti-Semitism he was facing.
The teacher, Jacob Rabinowitz, alleges that there was a swastika carved onto the blackboard on his first day teaching pre-calculus at St. Joseph’s Regional High School in Montvale during the 2017-18 year as well as swastikas and anti-Semitic slurs written on students’ desks. One such slur was allegedly the “sechs millionen waren nur der anfang,” which is German for “six million was just the beginning.”
Rabinowitz also alleges that students frequently threw coins at him, an apparent reference to the stereotype of Jews loving money, and one student allegedly proclaimed his love for the scene in “Schindler’s List” where a Jewish woman is murdered in front of the class. The student proceeded to act out the scene in front of the class.
In February, Rabinowitz received a performance review that was critical of his teaching skills, including his seeming unwillingness to “engage the students”; Rabinowitz responded on March 20 by pointing out that the review took place a day before a test and detailed the alleged anti-Semitism he endured on a daily basis in the classroom.
Michael Bruno, the principal of the school, allegedly blamed the anti-Semitism on Rabinowitz’s “inability to manage a classroom” in his response to Rabinowitz on March 26. Rabinowitz was then informed on March 29 that the school would not be bringing him back as a teacher in September.
The swastika was taken down from the blackboard on April 23.
“St. Joseph’s was so lax in its approach to the hostile work environment that it allowed a swastika to remain on Rabinowitz’s blackboard after he complained about it,” the lawsuit states.
Rabinowitz has alleged that he shared the classroom with two other teachers and neither of them did anything about the swastika.
Jim Goodness, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Newark, which owns the school, told in the Algemeiner that Rabinowitz had already filed a complaint on the matter with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the EEOC cleared the school of wrongdoing. Goodness also argued that Rabinowitz didn’t mention the alleged anti-Semitism until after his negative performance review.
However, Justin Santagata, one of Rabinowitz’s attorneys, dismissed Goodness’ argument to the Algemeiner, arguing that Rabinowitz’s timing of notifying the school about the alleged anti-Semitism “is not an answer for what St. Joseph’s and the Archdiocese allegedly permitted to happen before and particularly after Mr. Rabinowitz’s written complaint.” He also said that the EEOC’s dismissal of the matter was “standard” prior to a lawsuit.
Additionally, Santagata told NJ.com, “The conduct he was subjected to was not kids being kids but conduct highly offensive to a Jewish individual who had to stare at a swastika every day.”
Rabinowitz is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, including damages for emotional distress and compensation for attorneys’ fees on the counts on being subjected to a hostile environment, religious discrimination, and unlawful retaliation. A court date has not yet been scheduled.
