A Lower Merion High School student drew a swastika on his body and showed a Jewish student, officials say
District dministrators contacted township police, who are investigating.
Police are investigating after a Lower Merion High School student drew a swastika on his body Friday and showed it to a Jewish student at the school, and threatened another student in a social media video, administrators said.
Lower Merion School District Superintendent Frank Ranelli said in a message to community members that the video posted by the student after leaving school Friday didn’t refer to the swastika incident earlier in the day, but “it did contain concerning language.”
“Let me be perfectly clear, using hate speech or displaying hate symbols is not and will not be tolerated in our schools,” Ranelli said in the message, sent Friday night. He noted that district policy prohibits hate speech, and that students who violate it face consequences outlined in the district’s handbook.
Lower Merion administrators contacted township police, who are investigating, Ranelli said. He also said the student who drew the swastika and made the video would not be in school, “pending a disciplinary hearing and due process.”
“Further information about the students involved will not be shared to ensure student privacy,” Ranelli said.
Lower Merion has faced criticism from Jewish families in the district, who have accused it of not doing enough to respond to antisemitism.
In an Instagram post Friday about the incident, the Lower Merion Jewish Families Association called on families to “demand more from our administration and our school board,” but thanked the district “for treating this incident with the seriousness it deserves and escalating” to the Lower Merion police.
