The elite Chicago private school where a bullied student committed suicide has a history of harassment and anti-Semitism. New details have emerged in an ongoing lawsuit with parents, including a disturbing incident in which some orchestra members allegedly played Nazi party songs.
The $46,000-a-year Chicago Latin School, where Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker sends his children and boasts alumni including Nancy Reagan and chewing gum heir William Wrigley Jr. It is said that he covered up the band’s episode, but he did not address the issue at all. The school community has been informed of the May incident and is no longer answering questions about it, according to a message seen by The Post.
The revelations come as the city of Chicago has become a serious flashpoint for anti-Semitism. Last week, an Orthodox Jewish man was shot in the shoulder on his way to a synagogue by an illegal West African immigrant who shouted “Allah Akbar” before opening fire on police. Some in the Jewish community have criticized city officials for not initially labeling the incident as a hate crime or identifying the victim as Jewish, and believe the incident was covered up. suggested.
According to a message to parents, administrators at a Latin school told parents on the day of the incident that they were aware of the incident and were investigating it, but then continued to listen to the abhorrent song in class. He said that only a few students played the song.
In the messages, angry parents said there were no apparent consequences for the participants and that students returned to school the next day to participate in graduation activities.
“A lot of Jewish families don’t feel welcome or valued,” one Latin school parent told the Post on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. “The school doesn’t seem to have our children’s safety in mind, and we feel disappointed and like outsiders in the school community.”
Robert and Roselene Bronstein, the parents of 15-year-old Nate Bronstein, who committed suicide in January 2022 after complaining of persistent in-person and online bullying, have filed a $100 million lawsuit against the school. The revised wrongful death lawsuit also includes disturbing new allegations.
Latin School issued a statement at the time saying that “allegations of misconduct by school officials are inaccurate and misplaced” and that it would “vigorously defend itself and its faculty and staff against these baseless allegations.” .
During the 2022-23 school year, after Bronstein’s death, the track and field captain yelled to his Jewish teammates, “Run, Jewish boy, run, there’s money in the end!” The family complained in court papers, calling it another example of persistent bullying with “little or no repercussions.”
The suit says it took Latin College half the school year to address the truck incident, and that the issue was finally resolved in a closed-door meeting where students were told not to talk about it. has been done.
“There is no accountability at Chicago Latin School. There is no accountability to the students or to the instructors,” the Bronsteins told the Post. “The bullies become all the more emboldened because the entire school community knows about it and can see it. It’s the same rotten culture that destroyed Nate.”
The lawsuit says Bronstein’s suffering began with false rumors that she hadn’t been vaccinated, escalated to cyberbullying with classmates, and even encouraged him to commit suicide on Snapchat.
“There were a lot of anti-Semitic incidents that the school basically ignored,” another parent at the Latin school told the Post. “Even when problems are brought up to the school, they just say platitudes and do nothing.”
The parent added that such conditions have led some parents to withdraw their children from school.
Other controversial incidents at the school include inviting anti-Israel writer and activist Hoda Katebi to speak to upperclassmen in 2023. Mr. Ketabi was previously the director of communications for the Council on American-Islamic Relations and a member of Students for Justice in Palestine. University of Chicago.
“It’s not just Israeli policies that Ms. Katebi opposes. She supports organizations that seek the annihilation of Israel,” a co-director of the Latin Jewish Student Connection told the school’s newspaper, The Forum. I wrote it. The students’ request to rescind her invitation was denied.
Former principal Randall Dunn, who was in charge at the time of Bronstein’s death, now attends the fashionable Rye Country Day School in Westchester. Dunn, who did not respond to messages from the newspaper, previously said his claims of wrongdoing in the Bronsteins’ lawsuit were false and baseless.
The case is ongoing and is expected to return to court in December.
Dan is also president of the powerful National Association of Independent Schools, which oversees 1,600 private schools across the country.
The letter introducing Dunn to the RCDS community falsely stated that Nate was attending another school at the time of his death, rather than at Chicago’s Latin School, officials told the Post.
The Latin School did not respond to inquiries from the Post.
