Police in San Jose are investigating what they are describing as a “human swastika” incident at a local high school last week, the department said Monday.
On Friday just before 10 a.m., officers responded to a report of a hate crime that occurred two days earlier at Branham High School. According to police, students shared a photo on social media of a “human swastika” formation made by students.
On Monday, state Sen. Dave Cortese released a statement condemning the act, calling it deeply disturbing.
“Acts of hatred — no matter where they occur — have a profound impact on our young people, our families, and our broader community,” Cortese said. “There is absolutely no place for anti-Semitism, or any form of bigotry, in our schools or in our society.”
State Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, D-Santa Cruz, posted about the alleged hate crime on her Facebook page and included a photo of eight students lying down on the football field, forming a swastika. Pellerin said the photo was from the social media post, which included a quote by Adolf Hitler about the annihilation of the Jews.
“The alarming rise in antisemitism that we’ve witnessed over the past two years has manifested in a deeply disturbing incident at Branham High School this week,” she wrote on Facebook. “The actions of students who used their bodies to form a swastika, photographed it, and posted it online with their names and a threatening Hitler quote attached, paint a terrifying picture of the hate plaguing our communities.”
Branham High School principal Beth Silbergeld sent an announcement to students and parents saying the post circulating on social media didn’t reflect the school’s values and was under investigation, according to the school newspaper, the Branham Bear Witness.
“We need to ask ourselves why these students believed it was ok to do this — not just the swastika but linking it to extermination of Jews due to ‘international financial Jews.’”
State Sen. Scott Wiener
State Sen. Scott Wiener also decried the incident in a Sunday social media post.
“The school responded well to this horrific incident,” he wrote. “But we need to ask ourselves why these students believed it was ok to do this — not just the swastika but linking it to extermination of Jews due to ‘international financial Jews.’”
Wiener said such language is dangerous.
“We see lots of rhetoric today, on both right & left, about Jews controlling institutions — governments, elected officials, financial institutions, media, etc.,” he wrote. “For millennia, this claim of Jewish control & manipulation has been a pillar of antisemitic demonization, leading to violence.”
The Jewish Community Relations Council in San Francisco, which also shared the original social media post, said it reached out to school administrators and that the school is open to hearing their recommendations.
San Jose police said the investigation is active and ongoing.