A Pennsylvania school district is under fire after Jewish parents say a Muslim student club used a high-school culture fair to promote pro-Palestinian activism, distribute keffiyahs, and display political slogans that left some students feeling intimidated and unsafe.
According to Fox News, parents in the Wissahickon School District told the outlet that the controversy erupted during last Monday’s event at Wissahickon High School, where clubs set up booths meant to highlight cultural traditions.
The Muslim Students of America (MSA) chapter hosted one of the displays, but parents say what unfolded went far beyond culture.
“My child came home shaken and unsure of whether it’s even safe to speak up as a Jew at school,” parent Lynn Simon said.
Photos posted to social media showed Superintendent Dr. Mwenyewe Dawan and Assistant Superintendent Sean Gardiner visiting the booths. Principal Dr. Lynne Blair shared pictures as well before later removing some of the images.
Parents say the concern centered on students promoting slogans such as “Jerusalem is ours,” dressing classmates in keffiyahs, offering cash-prize contests, and encouraging staff and younger students to participate. Critics described the activity as a political display on school grounds — one they say school leaders openly supported.
“When the principal is posting pictures of students wearing slogans like ‘Jerusalem is ours,’ and the superintendent is encouraging illegal minor-led games of chance, while visiting & taking photos with politically charged booths dressing students up in keffiyehs, that’s not education — it’s indoctrination,” Simon said. “We don’t send our kids to school to be marginalized.”
Steve Rosenberg, Philadelphia director for the North American Values Institute, said the district’s handling of the event “continues to set the gold standard for educational malpractice.”
“The blurring of lines between culture and radical political propaganda — facilitated by staff, celebrated by leadership, and normalized for students — is both an embarrassment and a warning sign,” Rosenberg said. “School should be a place for critical thinking, not cultural intimidation and performative activism masquerading as diversity.”
A letter signed by dozens of Jewish parents, and obtained by Fox News Digital, outlined several incidents that they say “crossed clear educational and ethical boundaries.”
The letter noted that the keffiyah, while a cultural garment, has become a widely recognized political symbol given the current global climate.
Parents said students interpreted the booth’s messaging — combined with administrators’ presence — as political signaling from district leadership.
“Using financial or material incentives to draw students into a politically charged display is inappropriate and coercive,” the parents wrote. They also expressed alarm over the “Jerusalem is ours” imagery, describing it as a political claim that denies Jewish history and identity.
During a Dec. 1 board meeting, the MSA chapter’s president defended the phrase.
“Jerusalem is currently a conflict zone in which two parties are actually fighting over it,” the student said. “That statement was written in Arabic so none of the Jewish students could actually understand that and take that as antisemitic.”
The parents’ letter calls on the district to take several steps, including explaining how the keffiyahs were distributed, addressing the principal’s post, releasing the event’s planning framework, and establishing guidelines to prevent cultural programming from becoming political advocacy. They also want a listening session so Jewish families can share their concerns directly.
“Schools must be safe, neutral spaces where students of all identities are respected,” the letter concludes. “What happened this week undermines that principle, and it has caused real fear among Jewish students who now wonder whether their district will protect them — or leave them to navigate this climate alone.”
