The shocking recent act by a group of teens at a San Jose high school — forming a “human swastika” and posting a photo online alongside a quote attributed to Adolf Hitler — brought Jewish members of the South Bay community together Saturday with residents and local leaders to deliver a unified message opposing antisemitism.

“Antisemitism, racism and homophobia were present before that moment, but this act ripped off the veil again,” said Beth Silbergeld, principal of Branham High School, where the photo was taken by students during a lunch break. “It shocked us. It hurt. It frightened people. It angered people. It sparked conversations about Holocaust education, accountability, discipline, and what real repair should look like.”

Silbergeld’s remarks, delivered on the seventh night of Hanukkah at Congregation Shir Hadash in Los Gatos, brought the audience to its feet. The gathering was organized by the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area to condemn the antisemitic incident and stand in solidarity with the Jewish community.

The image spread quickly on social media and was painful for many local Jewish residents, some of whom said it intensified fears about the simple act of being visibly Jewish. The Bay Area Jewish Coalition, which tracks antisemitic incidents in K-12 schools across the region with a focus on the South Bay, has received 500 reports since November 2023.

Santa Clara County Supervisor Susan Ellenberg emphasized education as a central response, saying school must teach not only the history of the Holocaust but also the broader history of the Jewish people. Alienating the students involved, she said, would only “continue to perpetuate” the kind of hate that led to the incident.

“One of our most sacred duties is to teach our children, and if we don’t teach them, others will,” Ellenberg said. “The internet will teach them. People with misinformation or hate in their hearts will teach them. It’s hard to look with love at someone who you think has hate in their heart, but it’s truly the only way forward for all of us.”

Silbergeld said students in the Campbell Union High School District learn about the Holocaust in both middle and high school, but that antisemitism is absorbed continuously from the world around them.

“They must understand that this symbol (the swastika) is not history frozen in time,” she said. “It lives on today in neo-Nazi and white supremacist movements that continue to threaten Jewish people and other marginalized communities.”

Branham officials are investigating the incident but cannot disclose the identities of the students involved or any disciplinary actions under federal law. School leaders are also planning to partner with community organizations to expand education around the Holocaust, antisemitism and hate symbols.

The gathering came amid heightened concern following a Dec. 14 antisemitic terrorist attack during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney that killed 15 people and injured dozens more. Community members said the global violence underscored the urgency of responding locally.

Earlier this week, the Jewish Community Relations Council issued an open letter calling for an East Bay mayor to resign after he reposted social media claims falsely describing the Sydney attack as a “false flag.” The mayor later apologized, calling the reposts a mistake.

Saturday’s event opened with the lighting of the Havdalah candle marking the end of Shabbat, followed by the lighting of the menorah. Elected officials from across the Bay Area joined community members on stage.

“We think about the horrors of our world — Sydney, Boulder, Washington, D.C. — and, quite sadly, even here at home in our own high schools,” said U.S. Rep. Sam Liccardo, D-San Jose. “Although it is appropriate that we condemn that darkness, and we should do so clearly and quickly, this is a moment in Hanukkah when we can also celebrate the light.”

State Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, said antisemitism reflects a “sickness in a society,” adding that the response must extend beyond a single night.

“Tonight really has to be the beginning, not the end,” Becker said. “The beginning of a broader community conversation, the beginning of education.”

Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens, D-Sunnyvale, read a letter on behalf of Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, D-Santa Cruz, who represents the district around Branham High School, reaffirming her commitment to speaking out against hate and protecting the safety and dignity of Jewish residents.

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who previously taught at a public school, said communities must demand “richer, deeper, harder conversations” ]in classrooms.

“‘Never again’ can’t simply be a passive commitment, a slogan, a bumper sticker,” Mahan said. “It is actually, unfortunately, just given our nature as humans, it is a perpetual responsibility to engage everyone we interact with, especially the next generation, in a conversation about our values and who we are as a community.”

Campbell Union High School District Superintendent Robert Bravo said there is “no place for antisemitism” in the district and the swastika “represents one of the darkest evils in human history,” while praising the community’s collective response.

Cormac Nolan, 18, a senior at Branham High School, said the incident revived memories of his visit to Auschwitz and Birkenau, “where 1 million Jews were slaughtered under the symbol those students praised.”

“The Holocaust and the atrocities of the Nazi regime are not just a Jewish problem,” Nolan said. “It’s an issue for those who are people of color, those with disabilities, those who are of different faiths and those who stand for democracy.”

“It is imperative,” he added, “to speak out, even when you’re the only one in the room to do so.”

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