NEW YORK CITY (Press Release) — ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) and Reed Smith LLP have filed a federal civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, alleging that a Jewish student was subjected to severe, persistent and pervasive antisemitic harassment, culminating in a physical assault, while enrolled at Desert Shadows Middle School in the Paradise Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Title VI complaint alleges that “Student A,” a 14-year-old who wore a Star of David necklace, was targeted by at least five students between April 20 and May 21, 2026. She was allegedly called an “ugly Jew,” threatened that a classmate would “steal her pennies,” told her parents should send her to a concentration camp to be “gassed” and subjected to a Heil Hitler salute accompanied by shouts of “Jew, Jew, Jew.” After she reported the harassment, she was threatened for “snitching.” On the last day of school, the same student who allegedly referred to her as an “ugly Jew” allegedly shoved her across a desk into a cabinet.
“What happened here was preventable, yet the district failed to effectively remedy the ongoing harassment in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. This harassment then escalated to the point where this student was then physically assaulted,” said James Pasch, ADL Vice President of Litigation. “Rather than focus on addressing the incidents in a systemic manner, the district isolated the victim and attempted to make excuses for the antisemitic harassment. This is unacceptable, and the district must be held accountable.”
The complaint states that the district knew about the harassment the first time it was reported, yet responded with dismissiveness and delay, rather than promptly and effectively addressing the incidents. Student A’s teacher allegedly told her the slurs were not his problem, and administrators allegedly refused to call her parents because staff were “too busy.” An assistant principal allegedly suggested that the student who gave a Heil Hitler salute “probably had a crush on” Student A, and the school’s principal allegedly excused one of the perpetrators because he was “very religious.” Student A was moved into a class with one of her harassers and ultimately confined to the principal’s office, accumulating more than 45 missing assignments. Student A now attends school in a different school district.
“No child should be told she belongs in a gas chamber, and no family should have to plead with their school to take pervasive antisemitic harassment seriously,” said Sarah Kader, Deputy Director of the ADL Desert Region. “Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Other Jewish students at Desert Shadows have also faced harassment because they are Jewish. When a district minimizes these incidents and fails to effectively respond, antisemitism spreads. Schools should be places where all students are protected and their heritage is respected, not where they face assault and harassment because of who they are.”
“This family did everything they were supposed to do. They reported what was happening, asked for help and trusted the school to act,” said Gregory Speier, Partner at Reed Smith, who is leading the firm’s representation of the family. “Together with ADL, we are asking the Office for Civil Rights to help ensure that the district creates meaningful policies, implements training and ensure consistent accountability so that no Jewish student has to go through this again.”
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Preceding provided by the Anti-Defamation League.