In late October, Muslim Student Association chapters at Langley High School and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology posted recruitment videos to social media that depicted hostage-taking and violence.
Reaction has been swift. In a statement sent to Washington Jewish Week, the Fairfax County Public Schools noted the videos showed kidnappings, “with victims being hooded and placed in the trunk of a car, among other things. Acting out these types of violent acts is traumatizing for many of us to watch and, given world events, especially traumatizing to our Jewish students, staff, and community.”
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington said in a statement that they are “appalled.” According to the JCRC, the students involved with the videos have been suspended.
“It is never appropriate to make light of such horrific acts, but it is especially callous and cruel to do so when Hamas continues to hold the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages more than two years after committing the worst mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust,” the JCRC said.
The videos were quickly pulled offline but not before Jewish Insider reported details on the Thomas Jefferson High School video. The video, filmed in a classroom, shows a student wearing a keffiyeh asking the other students if they plan on attending the Muslim Student Association meeting. When two students say no, they are taken to the other side of the room as they scream that they are being kidnapped. One student is then shown wearing a sweatshirt with an outline of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza filled in with the Palestinian flag.
Many Jewish families in Fairfax County have expressed their concerns. Rabbi Amy Schwartzman is the senior rabbi at Temple Rodef Shalom, whose congregants attend both high schools. “We received calls from many parents who were deeply disturbed by the video. Some students were also very upset,” Schwartzman told Washington Jewish Week.
“The JCRC has made a statement, the schools have also communicated to their constituencies,” Schwartzman added. “We are supporting the families in our congregation who were affected by this.”
“FCPS would never consider these videos to be appropriate or acceptable content,” said the school district. “Any students found to be violating our Student Rights and Responsibilities will be held accountable for their actions. FCPS strives to create a learning environment where all students and staff feel safe and respected.”
“These skits were not harmless,” the Combat Antisemitism Movement wrote in a statement published online. “They mirrored the kidnappings Hamas terrorists carried out on October 7th — a day marked by barbarity and grief. To turn that horror into humor is not ignorance; it is moral collapse. Mocking Jewish pain so soon after the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust is not “insensitive.” It is antisemitism — plain, deliberate, and unmasked.”
The videos come on the heels of a Muslim Student Association-organized “Keffiyeh Week” in FCPS, where students were encouraged to wear keffiyehs on the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.
The pro-Palestinian Council on American Islamic Relations voiced support to the suspended students, saying other student groups had filmed similar material and not received any reprimand or punishment.
CAIR’s statement called the Thomas Jefferson MSA video “playful.”
“On Friday, October 24th, the [Thomas Jefferson High School] MSA shared a video on its official Instagram page promoting an event with a skit. The skit is playful, and the students in the video—all MSA members—can be seen smiling and chuckling throughout,” the statement said. “Many of the students are wearing Palestine themed clothing, keffiyehs, and hijabs. At the end, two students gleefully put their thumbs up with the caption, ‘No one was harmed in the making of this video.’ The video mirrors a popular trend of students promoting their events on campuses across the country. It is apparent that any threat [Thomas Jefferson High School] perceives from the video comes from racist tropes and stereotypes about Muslims and Arabs.”
The Combat Antisemitism Movement criticized CAIR’s response in their statement saying, “CAIR Defends the Indefensible.”
“Condemnation alone is not enough,” it said. “Fairfax County Public Schools must pair its words with courage and consequence. Schools must confront this rot directly — through real education about antisemitism and the moral lines no one can cross.”
The JCRC also criticized CAIR’s statement in a Facebook post. “Unlike CAIR, which believes students pretending to kidnap and murder children is ‘playful’ and ‘harmless’ fun, JCRC does not take it lightly when students parody violence.”
Rabbi Schwartzman added: “I believe that the most important thing at this moment is dialogue and community building. This incident is a chance for groups at the school to speak to one another about how they experienced the video. This moment calls for sharing and understanding among students but also among school officials and Jewish community leaders. Let’s use this unfortunate incident as launchpad for a stronger and more caring school and community.”
Guila Franklin Siegel, JCRC’s chief operating officer, told Washington Jewish Week, “we have a very good relationship with FCPS leadership, and we hope to be able to continue to partner with them to introduce some long-term positive interventions to not only educate students about antisemitism, but to help to create greater empathy among the students.”
