An Illinois high school says it has launched an investigation after a “deeply offensive” quote about the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack was printed in its yearbook.
An entry in Glenbrook South High School’s 2024 yearbook has sparked outrage in the community of the northern Chicago suburb of Glenview for quoting a 10th-grade student’s “happy” reaction to last fall’s terrorist attack against Israel in a section on the war.
“In my opinion, it isn’t a war, considering this has been going on for 75 years,” the student’s quote read. “The first day, I woke up and I saw what Palestine did, and I was happy because they’re finally defending themselves. The fact that the whole world only saw that instead of focusing on the past – makes me sad because it’s my home country. It’s important [to speak up] because thousands of people are dying every day. Just be aware and educate yourself.”
Fox News Digital has chosen not to identify the student.
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The yearbook also appeared to downplay the events of Oct. 7 by repeatedly referring to Hamas as a “militant group” and refraining from acknowledging that Israeli civilians were targeted that day.
A statement from Glenbrook South’s principal and superintendent to students and families on Friday expressed “profound regret” over the printing of the quote.
“The statements in the piece in no way represent the views of Glenbrook South or District 225,” Glenbrook South Principal Dr. Barbara Georges and Superintendent Dr. Charles Johns wrote. “We recognize the feelings, fear and pain related to the content in the yearbook, and we want to assure you that we are in conversation with many students, families, staff and community members about this situation.”
“Glenbrook South has a long history of prioritizing the safety and well-being of our students. We are committed to ensuring that all those impacted by the statements published in the yearbook feel safe and supported while at school. Our goal at Glenbrook South is to ‘ensure that every student at Glenbrook South will report feeling a sense of belonging as a valued member of the Titan community.’ Over this challenging year, we have and will continue to take intentional measures to listen and respond to all concerns. If any student needs additional support or services, members of the Student Services Department are available,” the statement continued.
“When we became aware of this situation on Thursday, we initiated an investigation that will continue until we reach a resolution. Our goal is to ensure that all students and staff feel safe and are valued. We are exploring all options to remedy this deeply offensive and regrettable situation.”
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Pete Glowacki, vice president of the school district’s Board of Education, condemned the “antisemitic” statements as hurtful and “will not be condoned or tolerated.”
“The District 225 Board of Education, Administration, and staff condemn antisemitism, hate speech, and violence of any kind,” Glowacki said at a meeting on Tuesday in comments sent to Fox News Digital by the school. “This is a core belief codified by Illinois statute, district policy, and our student handbook. The Board has directed the administration to promptly and thoroughly investigate these comments so that we can address these comments, how they came to be published and properly address any future occurrences. Furthermore, the investigation must consider the rights of all of those involved. The completed report and recommendations will be shared with the public, in the coming weeks.”
After determining that Dr. Georges and the administrative staff were unaware of the comments before they were published in the yearbook, Glowacki continued, “We recognize that adolescence is a time when students are trying to make sense of the world and their identity within it. As a learning institution, focused on the positive development of young people, the district aspires to create a safe environment for our students to learn to be critical thinkers, recognize and appreciate multiple perspectives, and understand their responsibilities in our evolving world. In the days since the yearbook’s publication, anger has permeated our community, and this is understandable. People (we) are hurt and scared and feel a sense of betrayal. Unfortunately, these sentiments have led to threats and intimidation against the student, principal and faculty sponsor of our community. These actions against members of our community will also not be tolerated.”
The Chicago suburb news publication Daily Herald reported that the “raucous” school board meeting lasted nearly 2-and-a-half hours as “dozens” of speakers featuring students, parents and alumni representing both sides of the Israel-Palestinian conflict expressed outrage.
According to the Daily Herald, this isn’t the only yearbook controversy rocking the area. Last week, Bartlett High School reportedly halted the distribution of its yearbook in order to remove a photo said to feature a group of pro-Palestinian students, one of them holding a sign reading, “From the river to the sea.”
Bartlett’s interim principal Melanie Meidel emailed students and families stating, “We regret to inform you that an offensive photo was included in this year’s school yearbook…. One of our top priorities is the well-being and respect of our students, staff and community. Regrettably, we have become aware that the yearbook was printed with a photo containing text that is considered antisemitic.”
The decision sparked a backlash, with Bartlett’s Muslim Student Association collecting more than 1,600 online signatures declaring the antisemitism allegation “false.”
On Wednesday, the high school’s superintendent Suzanne Johnson said the yearbook’s distribution would resume and that the photo did not represent the values of Bartlett. The school did not clarify to the Daily Herald whether that meant the photo would still be included in the yearbook.
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