The NYC Department of Education says it will investigate a teacher accused of commenting on TikTok, “Yeah, we don’t support Jews here.”
Upon receiving a complaint from Jewish anti-hate groups, the DOE immediately removed Meera M. Mangaroo from her classroom at the Bronx Writing Academy, a 188-student middle school in the South Bronx, pending a probe.
“Hate has no place at New York City Public Schools, and we stand against all acts of antisemitism and discrimination of any kind,” DOE spokeswoman Onika Richards said in a statement.
Meera M. Mangaroo
Mangaroo’s removal comes on the heels of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s release of a report, “Tackling Hate: The Mamdani Administration’s Strategy to Combat Antisemitism.” The citywide plan covers the public schools.
Under the TikTok handle Bxgirlteach, Mangaroo listed several “minority owned ice cream places to go to.”
When another TikTok user noted “Jewish is minority owned,” Bxgirlteach replied, “Yeah we don’t support Jews here.”
“This allegation has been reported and referred for investigation,” the DOE said, adding that “the views described are diametrically opposed to the values of New York City Public Schools. We expect all staff to maintain learning environments that are respectful, inclusive and free from bias, and we will take appropriate steps to ensure those standards are upheld.”
Moshe Spern, president of United Jewish Teachers, praised the DOE’s swift response.
“To say ‘we don’t support Jews here’ is pretty bad,” Spern said. “That’s not Zionists. That’s not Israel. That’s Jews.”
Several people gathered at a rally sponsored by the DOE’s downtown headquarters this morning to protest the comments.
The state licensed Mangaroo to teach grades 1 to 6 in September 2012, after a prior conditional license expired in 2007. Her salary in 2024, the latest posted on seethroughny.net, was $108,501.
The DOE assigned Mangaroo to a district office pending the investigation.