Shabbat Shalom! This week I am thinking about the many wonderful things the Jewish Alliance does that often time go unnoticed by our community. In this week’s Shabbat message, I want to share with you one such story, as told by Stephanie Hague, our Chief Strategy Officer.

Six months ago, we learned of an antisemitic hazing attack on a Jewish student at Smithfield High School — and of a school administration that failed him. Today, I want to share what our community did about it, and what comes next.

Last week, the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office and the Smithfield School Department reached a formal agreement requiring the district to implement a comprehensive five-part remediation plan. This is a significant step, and it didn't happen on its own.

From the outset, the Jewish Alliance centered our response on what the victim and his family actually wanted — listening to them, following their lead, and protecting their confidentiality throughout. Our partners at the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center engaged the school with expertise and in good faith, but the administration's lack of accountability made clear that more was needed.

We engaged the Rhode Island Department of Education and the Attorney General's Office as partners in pursuing accountability. We organized a press conference with interfaith, civic, and elected leaders — including Congressman Gabe Amo — to make clear that hazing and hate have no place in our schools. We told this story loudly and repeatedly in the media, situating it within the troubling rise of antisemitism across our state and nation. And last November, more than 100 community members filled the Smithfield School Committee meeting to speak on behalf of the victim and our values.

The remediation plan requires the district to revise its harassment and hazing policies, provide mandatory staff training, implement anti-discrimination programming for students, survey school climate, and establish a formal protocol to support victims.

An agreement is only as meaningful as its implementation. The Jewish Alliance will monitor this process closely, maintain our relationships with RIDE, the Attorney General's Office, and our elected partners, and continue to support the victim, his family, and the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center as the key providers of education in our school districts. A special thank you to the colleagues who worked closely together on this response: Emily Gaudreau, Brian Sullivan, Wendy Joering and Adam Greenman.

Antisemitism must have consequences. When our community organizes with purpose and persistence, we can make change. This milestone belongs to all of us.

Stephanie Hague 
Chief Strategy Officer 
Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island