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Feds open probe into New York City's pro-Palestinian teachers
By Elaine Mallon, Lauren Green
Published May 04, 2026
New York City Public Schools are under investigation by the Trump administration over allegations that a group of pro-Palestinian teachers sought to sow "hatred towards Jewish students" during classroom instruction.
The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights announced its investigation into the nation's largest public school system nearly two weeks ago after receiving reports that teachers were organizing seminars propping up the Palestinian resistance and labeling Zionists as "genocidal white supremacists."
"No child should be taught by his or her teachers to hate their peers. Neither should Jewish children be taught that being Jewish somehow makes them inherently guilty or proponents of hate and violence," Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in a statement. "Discrimination has no place in our schools, and, unlike the previous Administration, the Trump Administration will not turn a blind eye to antisemitic harassment."
The Education Department's investigation into New York City Public Schools comes as Mayor Zohran Mamdani enters his fifth month in office. Mamdani has been heavily scrutinized for his anti-Israel rhetoric, having accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of committing war crimes and saying Palestinians are facing a "genocide" perpetrated by the Jewish state. He also revoked an executive order that blocked New York City officials from boycotting or divesting in Israel and another executive order that expanded the definition of antisemitism.
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New York City public school students participated in a walkout on May 31, 2024. (Associated Press)
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani's office.
At the center of the Education Department's investigation is a group of educators known as NYC Educators for Palestine. The group's mission statement centers on the belief that "education should be a tool for liberation not occupation" and that teachers should work "both inside and outside the classroom" to achieve Palestinian justice.
The Education Department noted the group's teaching seminars focused on "Palestinian, Zionism, and Resistance" as a potential Title VI violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. During these seminars, which were taught to children as young as 5, the educators focused on the "contemporary and historical Palestinian resistance." Complaints alleged that the seminars depicted Zionists as "genocidal white supremacists" and that it gave credence to support Hamas and its "martyrs."
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Zohran Mamdani announces new members of his team at the Brooklyn Public Library Greenpoint Branch in Brooklyn, Dec. 17, 2025. (Shawn Inglima/ New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
NYC Educators for Palestine also organized a "Teach-In for Palestine" set for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The "teach-in" was advertised for students as young as 6.
Fox News Digital reached out to NYC Educators for Palestine for comment.
A spokesperson for New York City Public Schools denied the group's affiliation with the school district.
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"The group referenced is not connected to New York City Public Schools," a spokesperson said.
But a parent told Fox News that it seemed teachers were "so radicalized and so focused on sending messages like this [pro-Palestine] rather than focusing on really crucial skills like literacy and critical thinking."
Masked students receive an in-person art lesson at Yung Wing School P.S. 124 in New York City on Jan. 5, 2022. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
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The Education Department's investigation into New York City Public Schools is just the latest investigation into allegations of antisemitism running rampant in public school districts across the country in the wake of the Gaza war.
Last August, the Trump administration launched an investigation into Baltimore City Public Schools for alleged antisemitic harassment. The investigation is still ongoing.
More than 60 colleges and higher education institutions have been notified by the Trump administration of pending investigations into the schools' failures to properly address antisemitism on campus.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/feds-open-probe-new-york-citys-pro-palestinian-teachers