The first time you crack open your high school yearbook should be the first of decades of doing the same, lingering over photos that evoke cherished memories of a past time of growth and wonder.
However, for the Jewish Student Union (JSU) members of East Brunswick High School in central New Jersey, opening their 2024 yearbook was far from the nostalgic journey they anticipated. Instead, they were met with shock and dismay. Their group photo, a symbol of their unity and identity, had been removed and replaced by a photo of Muslim students.
Charlotte Friedman, president of the JSU, said she felt “shock and hurt” when she discovered her group’s photo in the yearbook had been replaced.
“It feels as if our identity as Jewish students has been symbolically erased,” Friedman said. “It is extremely upsetting to witness the club for which I have served two years as president to be unseen and unrecognizable. I will always be reminded of this distressing event every time I open my high school yearbook.”
The Superintendent of Schools, Victor Waleski, attempted to address the incident as a ‘gross lack of oversight’ during a June 6 Board of Education meeting attended by nearly 750 parents and students. However, his words only ignited the community’s anger and disappointment.
“Shame on you,” said a mother of two students in the district. “Shame on you for creating a clear divide in a time where there’s heightened sensitivity globally.”
Abby Aranovich, a junior, told the Board of being taunted and bullied at school for her religion, and her reluctance to report the incidents for fear of backlash and because “It doesn’t matter what I say or report, nothing will be done. I’m not standing here to demand attention or sympathy, but to convey a message that has been blurred, lost and overlooked. Our school is one of the most diverse institutions I’ve ever seen. And that’s the beauty of it. Everyone of every color, sexuality, gender, race, background is protected and respected. But from the latest action, this clearly doesn’t apply to the Jewish student body.”
Reflecting Ms. Aranovich’s frustration with past inactions by the administration, Susan Antman, executive director of the Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey cited “the district’s, schools’, administrators’ and teachers’ unacceptable missteps of the past, including dismissing one student’s report of antisemitism—not once, but twice—saying the student ‘wasn’t offended enough.’”
Antman called on school officials to return to conversations with the organization and with local Jewish families to “construct a path forward” to correct those missteps.
Muslim students, too, were affected by the yearbook fiasco. Muslim Student Association co-president Hasan Sayin said that his group’s members have been blamed for the incident, with some being called names and being threatened.
“A majority of the kids in that picture are minors, and nobody, as it was getting spread around on social media to the national news, nobody cared for the safety of those minors,” he said. “And to think, to automatically assume that we, the MSA, would do this intentionally, as an act of antisemitism is disgusting. We’ve been exposed to Islamophobia and further harassment because of a lack of authority on your end.”
School board members listened, thanked the speakers, expressed pride for the students who spoke up, and hoped for a speedy resolution and healing.
“It does break my heart because I’ve never seen this in East Brunswick,” said Board President Laurie Lachs. “I am incredibly heartbroken for them (students). I’m not telling you that this was handled perfectly. I don’t think there’s anything that’s ever handled perfectly, and we have to learn from our mistakes. And some people have asked for an apology, and I can only speak for myself. My apologies and I am incredibly sorry for what’s going on for these children. And I’m devastated to hear some of the things that have gone on in the high school. These are kids’ lives and no kid should ever be made to feel that way and I’m sorry.”
A new photo was taken of the JSU, a new edition of the yearbook is being rushed to the printers, and students have been asked to return the present version. And a special counsel, Yaacov Brisman of Brisman Law of Passaic, is now investigating how the yearbook was tampered with and who was responsible for what East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen called—possibly prematurely, possibly not—an “act of blatant antisemitism.”
Photo credits: Brunswick High School by SilentMatt Psychedelic. CC BY-SA 4.0.
