STATEN ISLAND, NY — A mother has filed a lawsuit against New York City and the New York City Department of Education (DOE), alleging that a boy was assaulted in an anti-Semitic attack at a Staten Island public school.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of a boy, disputes that the city and DOE were negligent in their duties at the time of the attack.

As for damages, the plaintiff is seeking unspecified damages for allegedly not responding to the beating during recess at Egbert Intermediate School (IS 2) in Midland Beach, according to court documents.

The alleged attack

The victim of that attack was a student at the high school from September 2022 to October 2023, according to court records.

It was on October 25, 2023, just over two weeks after terrorist attack against Israel on October 7, 2023that the boy was assaulted by a group of students, the filing alleges.

The child, then a seventh-grader, was out for recess around noon when a group of students began chasing him around the schoolyard, according to the complaint.

Despite efforts to run and locate a teacher or security guard, the boy was unable to find an authority figure because no school personnel were present in the yard, the lawsuit alleges.

Eventually, the boy was surrounded and “an assailant pushed him to the ground and yelled anti-Semitic and anti-Israel slurs,” court records state. One of the students also hit the boy three times, twice in the leg and once in the face, the complaint said.

Although the boy was able to protect his groin, the complaint says he was unable to protect his face or leg.

After his attackers stopped fighting, the boy was not approached by any teachers, staff or security, according to the complaint.

The boy, who is Jewish, believes he was targeted because he previously mentioned wanting to join the Israel Defense Forces when quizzed in class about future careers because reported by the New York Post.

The school’s supposed response

School staff remained unaware of the situation until the boy himself told a teacher, who later informed the school’s principal, court documents allege.

Despite eventually learning about the assault, the complaint alleges, “school staff did not seek medical attention for (the boy).” Also, employees at IS 2 did not immediately call or notify the victim’s parents about the assault, according to the filing.

The complaint goes on to say that an unnamed school official placed the child on a New York City Transit Authority bus without the parents’ permission and without their knowledge of the incident.

During that time on the bus, court records suggest the boy “experienced extreme fear, nervousness, anxiety and severe emotional distress.”

Court documents show that following the incident, “(the boy) never returned to the middle school.” In fact, the family’s trauma led them to move to New Jersey, according to the New York Post report.

The lawsuit against the city and the DOE was filed in state Supreme Court, St. George. While seeking unspecified damages, the complaint indicates that the damages sought “exceed the jurisdictional limits of all lower courts that would otherwise have jurisdiction.”

“Anti-Semitism in public schools has been a real problem since October 7 and after the events of October 7,” said Anna Livshits, the plaintiff’s attorney.

“It’s very troubling that you not only have an incident where a boy so young was targeted based on his religion or his ethnicity, but you also had a situation where school administrators, you know, based on the boy’s allegations, really didn’t he responded appropriately after being attacked by other children,” added Livshits. “I think while there are incidents of schoolyard bullying, I think what makes it different is that there was no one in the schoolyard to help him get away from these kids who were chasing him. And then, even when the school found out about the incident, the administration just put him on a bus and made him go home alone and didn’t even notify his mother, according to the report. “

“Hate has no place in New York public schools, and all students and staff deserve to be safe at school and in their communities,” said DOE spokeswoman Jenna Lyle. “We will review the process when we receive it.”