Congressional Republicans on the House Committee on Education and Workforce have opened an investigation on antisemitism in Berkeley Unified School District, over a year after BUSD Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel testified before the committee in May 2024 about the district’s handling of such complaints.
The Committee requested that BUSD, along with Fairfax County Public Schools and the School District of Philadelphia, provide extensive documentation by Dec. 8, 2025, including an anonymized chart of all antisemitism complaints since Oct. 7, 2023; all documents and communications related to walkouts and curricula concerning Israel and Palestine; and contracts or agreements referring to these topics since January 2022.
In a letter sent to BUSD on Nov. 24, 2025, Committee Chair Tim Walberg claimed that there were multiple incidents involving antisemitic activity in BUSD. The letter claimed that “BUSD teachers, staff, and administrators have allegedly urged students to join walkouts and demonstrations during school hours that isolate and alienate Jewish students.” It also described an incident in which a BUSD elementary school teacher told their students to write “anti-hate” messages like “stop bombing babies,” as well as what they described as antisemitic symbols in BUSD classrooms such as “an image of a fist destroying the Star of David,” according to Walberg’s letter.
Hannah Slattery-Weisberg, a Berkeley High School junior who identifies as Jewish and serves as the vice president of BHS Jackets for Palestine club, challenged the allegations mentioned in the letter. She was involved in drafting a response letter to Congress signed by 22 Jewish BHS students. “The letter was written by a Jewish (BHS) student, and she wrote it as a response to the reopening of the investigation, just to kind of send the message that Jews at (BHS) do not all feel one specific way,” Slattery-Weisberg said. “The lawsuit doesn’t reflect the feelings of Jews at (BHS), and we don’t want this being done in our name,” she said.
According to Ford Morthel, BUSD is working with the committee to provide the requested information, but expressed frustration that the investigation focuses on allegations from over a year ago that the district has already addressed.
“The things that are noted in the investigation are not new incidents or claims, but rather the same incidents or allegations that were made over a year and a half ago,” Ford Morthel said, “It was a little bit shocking to have it come to us again as if it was something brand new and quite disappointing that it wasn’t noted that these were allegations that we have done a lot to respond to and hold ourselves accountable for.”
Jasmina Viteskic, BUSD’s compliance officer and Title IX coordinator, explained that the district treats antisemitism complaints as discrimination complaints under Title VI, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, and national origin. Viteskic outlined the steps taken when a formal Title VI complaint is filed; “First supportive measures and then investigating complaints, and issuing any sort of behavioral interventions for students and disciplinary interventions for staff members, if necessary,” she said.
Viteskic also explained that antisemitism complaints in the 2024-25 school year have not been significant and similar to previous years, unlike the larger number received during the 2023-24 school year.
Both Ford Morthel and Viteskic highlighted that the district has made many policy changes since the initial allegations in 2024, including new policies, board resolutions, and annual Title VI training.
On Oct. 7, 2023, a Palestinian Sunni Islamist political and militant organization (Hamas) launched attacks on Israel that killed roughly 1,200 people and took over 250 Israelis as hostages. This marked the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. In response, Israel launched military campaigns in Gaza that have led to tens of thousands of wounded Palestinians. Since then, the date has become a symbol of the attacks themselves, as well as the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Elias Ross, a BHS senior and president of the BHS Jewish Student Union (JSU), has observed changes in campus climate since Oct. 7, 2023. “There’s been a lot more joking and antisemitism, especially when I’m just talking with my friends,” Ross said. “There’s never any hostility towards Jews — I haven’t experienced that personally. But there’s definitely been insensitive joking and microaggressions,” he said. He noted that these incidents were most apparent right after Oct. 7; however, they continue to appear whenever there is a news story about it. Ross clarified that the jokes were predominantly made by non-Jewish students.
Ross expressed belief in the claims in the congressional letter. “I totally believe everything that was said in the congressional letter from what I’ve heard in the club (JSU) and from other people who brought it up,” he said, “It’s a real thing and these are people who are bringing these things to light.”
He described how JSU has worked to address concerns, explaining that closer to Oct. 7, 2023, the club regularly facilitated discussions where members could share their feelings and experiences. Ford Morthel visited JSU around Oct. 7, 2023 to speak with club leaders and members. The club has also held an activity where students wrote down their experiences with antisemitism, which were brought to school administrators. However, Ross acknowledged the limits of administrative action — the issue ultimately “comes down to the micro interactions between students,” which are harder for the school to change, he explained.
Addressing the allegations that BUSD created what the letter claimed to be a “hostile environment” for Jewish students, Slattery-Weisberg pushed back. “I think it’s really important to note the distinction between students feeling uncomfortable and students feeling unsafe in those discussions,” she said. “I think a lot of students have felt uncomfortable in those discussions, but that’s okay because the discussions are about war, which is scary and hard and students will feel uncomfortable no matter what, but it’s about making sure students are safe,” she continued.
Soon after the letter was sent out, Fairfax County Public Schools, also named in Walberg’s letter, issued a statement in response: “Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has received a letter from Congressman Walberg, Chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, requesting information about potential antisemitic incidents occurring within FCPS schools since 2022. FCPS intends to fully cooperate with Congressman Walberg’s inquiry. FCPS continues to partner with all families to provide a safe, supportive, and inclusive school environment for all students and staff members.”
In December 2024, the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) entered a federally mandated corrective action plan with the U.S. Department of Education; however, SDP community members have said that antisemitic incidents have continued to happen.
The extent of the request from the committee shows Congress’s intent to conduct a thorough investigation into whether the districts have violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which could lead to federal action to address these incidents.
Ford Morthel emphasized that the most important voices in this process are those within the BUSD community. “When I went to testify in front of Congress a year plus ago, what was important to me was that I go represent Berkeley values, and I know that our community values diversity, it values inclusion, it values equity,” she said, “We are definitely complying with Congress and making sure we’re working with them to get them the information that they want. But for me, the most important feedback and the most important voices are those who are here in BUSD, not those that are in DC.”