Beverly Hills Unified School District board members vote to fly Israeli flags inside schools

Beverly Hills Unified School District officials on Tuesday voted yes on a proposal that they hope will fight antisemitism by flying the Israeli flag on all campuses and district facilities. 

"This is a time right now that Jews are being killed and slaughtered on the street, and threats are happening," said Sigalie Sabag, a BHUSD board member.

They initially proclaimed support for the resolution during their last meeting on Aug. 5, but decided to wait for a vote until they could make some revisions. The completed version of the motion will recognize May as Jewish Heritage Month, display a flag at each BHUSD school and facility, call for education and awareness around Jewish history and culture and designate Oct. 7, 2023 as an annual day of remembrance. 

The resolution passed 3-to-2, which was met with strong reaction from members of the public who had gathered for Tuesday night's meeting. 

Supporters say that the measure is needed in a time of rising antisemitism, so that Jewish students can feel safe and supported. Recently, the Anti-Defamation League reported that antisemitic incidents in the U.S. were at record highs. 

"This should be a no-brainer for a school district that represents one of the only Jewish-majority communities outside of Israel," said Beverly Hills Vice Mayor John Mirisch while speaking to the crowd ahead of the vote. 

In Los Angeles County, data from 2022 showed that anti-Jewish hate crimes rose more than 90%, the largest number of such crimes ever recorded in the region. 

Opponents of the measure say that displaying the Israeli flag in a public school setting blurs the line between supporting the Jewish community and endorsing the Israeli government, particularly during a time when they're at war. They also believe that other ethnic and religious groups exist within a school district. 

"Does any flag of a foreign nation belong on a public school facility here in Beverly Hills? Of course not," said Andrea Grossman at the meeting. 

Flags of foreign nations do fly in other public schools across the state. 

On top of that, others say that the resolution isn't designed to protect all of the district's students, which could lead to alienation for some other children, exclusion for other persecuted communities or fuel even more antisemitism. 

"Jewish communities have suffered sharp increases in hate crimes, but other groups are not immune to these attacks either," said Gay Abrams, in opposition to the proposal. 

Board members say that their decision was made in good faith, and that displaying the Israeli flag is not an endorsement of a government or geopolitical topic. 

"It does not mean that the flag display equals that it's against anyone," said BHUSD board member Russell Stewart. "It is in support of our Jewish students and the Jewish community."

BHUSD officials said that the flag would not be flown on a flagpole and that they would continue to only fly the American and Californian flags outside of their campuses. They would instead showcase the Israeli flag in other ways, but they did not disclose exactly how they planned to do so.