New Jersey’s Jewish community is demanding answers after a high school yearbook erased the names and photos of a Jewish club and replaced them with Muslim students, in what the town’s mayor dubbed a “blatant antisemitic act.”
The 2024 edition of the East Brunswick High School yearbook had a blank space where the Jewish Student Union members’ names should have gone — and instead of the club’s group picture, there was one of Muslim students.
Town Mayor Brad Cohen said the incident was unacceptable and called on the district to find out how it happened.
“Hate has no place in East Brunswick and antisemitism will not be tolerated,” Cohen said in a statement, adding that hate crime charges could be pressed against those who are found responsible.
“We were shocked and disturbed when we got up to our page and saw what happened,” she said. “It was disappointing, and it feels like they were trying to take our identity away from us.”
The student did not understand why anyone would target the club, which has around 50 members and serves as a safe space for Jewish students to congregate and celebrate the holidays together
She joined Cohen in demanding accountability over the incident, saying that any teacher involved should be reprimanded or fired, and any student responsible should have their prom or graduation privileges revoked.
East Brunswick Superintendent of Schools Victor Valeski said the district is investigating the “error” and working with the publishers to correct the yearbook.
“We deeply apologize for this error and the disappointment it has caused,” Valeski said in an email to the community. “Thank you for your understanding and patience as we work expeditiously to rectify this situation.”
Brittany VanDyke, the faculty adviser for the yearbook, also sent a letter to her club members acknowledging the “mistake not caught in editing and printed unintentionally.”
“We know what happened, we know our truth and we are working hard to rectify this situation immediately,” VanDyke wrote.
Christine Mahler and Jack Goldberg, both leaders at the East Brunswick Jewish Center, told The Post they were “shocked and appalled” by the yearbook that was handed out to students.
“We have a very prominent Jewish community in East Brunswick, and everyone is very upset by what happened at the high school,” Goldberg said. “We’ve never had anything like this happen before.”
“We stand with the mayor’s office and our fellow synagogues in demanding a response from the district,” Mahler added. “We don’t want to pre-emptively pass judgment, but we need answers.”
The Jewish Center was joined by the Jewish Federation Heart of New Jersey, which is in contact with the district and mayor’s office about the ongoing investigation.
“We are seeking clarification from the school and Board of Education on how such an incident occurred, as well as the actions planned to address this unacceptable situation and to hold the people who are responsible accountable,” the group said in a statement.
Officials at East Brunswick High School did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The incident in New Jersey is part of a disturbing trend of yearbook controversies in American high schools that appeared to target Jewish students.
On Tuesday, California’s Palos Verdes High School yearbook featured a student-written and teacher-approved article titled, “Whose Land Is It Anyway?,” which allegedly blames Israel for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack that left more than 1,200 dead and about 250 others kidnapped, local KTLA 5 reports.
And last week in Chicago, the Glenbrook South High School yearbook included a quote from a student who claimed they were “happy” about the terror attack because it meant Palestinians were “finally defending themselves,” according to CBS 2.
A similar incident occurred last month when Texas’ Bellaire High School yearbook included a “Times of Palestine” page that omitted the Oct. 7 massacre and merely wrote, “What happened, happened.”
