Some Jewish families were surprised by the allegations at Hillcrest, saying they find the campus supportive and inclusive.Hillcrest High School is partnering with a handful of organizations, including the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, to provide campus training, Dallas ISD officials said.“It is extremely disheartening to hear allegations of antisemitism at our very own Hillcrest High School,” she wrote in an email to families.
The complaint was co-filed by StandWithUs, a California-based nonprofit that works to combat antisemitism and support Israel. The Hillcrest student –Yael Lerman, director of StandWithUs’ legal department, said she’s glad the school is instituting training on antisemitism, which her organization had been asking for.The complaint comes during a tense time for American campuses as they are struggling with reverberations of the Israel-Hamas war.
The Jewish community at Hillcrest is small but has been growing, they said. The families said their children are involved in the Jewish Student Union there, along with many other extracurriculars.“Antisemitism is not something my kids have experienced at Hillcrest in the four years that we’ve been there,” father Louis Okon said.
“I’ve been really impressed across the board with their commitment to students,” said Yurich, who hopes more people in her family’s neighborhood will choose to attend Hillcrest. “I don’t want people to be deterred.”