The resolution was supported by Beverly Hills Mayor Sharona Nazarian and Vice Mayor John Mirisch. (photo by Edwin Folven)

Updated Aug. 28: Beverly Hills Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Alex Cherniss announced on Aug. 28 that the district will not display the flag of Israel in May.

Although the BHUSD Board of Education on Aug. 26 approved a resolution that would require the display of Israeli flags on all district campuses, Cherniss said he made the decision in accordance with board policy 2210, which states, “when immediate action is necessary to avoid any risk to the safety or security of students, staff, or district property or to prevent disruption of school operations, the superintendent or designee shall have the authority to act on behalf of the district.”

The Beverly Hills Unified School District Board of Education narrowly approved a resolution on Aug. 26 that requires all schools to display the flag of the state of Israel on campuses during the month of May. The resolution, titled “Combating Antisemitism through Education, Awareness, Remembrance and Support,” recognizes May as Jewish Heritage Month, commemorates International Holocaust Remembrance Day in January, designates Oct. 7 as a day of remembrance, adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and provides professional development for staff and educational opportunities for students to learn Jewish history and prevent antisemitism. The resolution was created with the assistance of BHUSD’s legal counsel.

Board Member Russell Stuart said that BHUSD schools will not fly the flag of Israel on flagpoles. However, the resolution does not specify how the flags will be displayed.

Board President Rachelle Marcus and Board Member Amanda Stern voted against the resolution, echoing concerns from the community over the display of the Israeli flag.

Marcus said that she wholeheartedly supported the intent of the resolution in combatting antisemitism and creating an inclusive environment for Jewish students, but felt that the display of Israeli flags would make the schools a target for increased hatred.

“I would pass this resolution tonight, but I have a deep concern about … flying a flag or displaying a flag in front of the school,” Marcus said. “I fear [for] the safety of the students in the school. I don’t want to put something on the front of the school that would make us targets of any kind, especially with the students in our school.”

Stern also expressed concerns over safety, and added that the resolution appeared to directly contradict a board policy approved in July that limits the discussion of “sensitive topics” in classrooms and prohibits teachers from promoting political or ideological causes. The “Standards-Based Instructional Environment” policy states that “political, religious or socially sensitive topics must be relevant to the curriculum and presented in a factual, objective and nonpartisan manner.” It also states that teachers are expected to avoid displaying partisan materials.

“The whole school is going to commemorate this highly charged geopolitical issue … What is more partisan material than a flag?” Stern said.

The resolution was controversial among the community, prompting both praise and criticism during public comments. Some Jewish members of the public and Jewish students spoke out in support, stating that the resolution is sorely needed amid rising antisemitism across the country.

“This is a necessary step to protect students, to protect history and to protect the truth. As a Jewish student, I’ve seen firsthand how often antisemitism is dismissed, downplayed or ignored until it’s too late,” said Jillian Samadi, president of Beverly Hills High School’s Jewish Club.

The resolution was also supported by Beverly Hills Mayor Sharona Nazarian and Vice Mayor John Mirisch.

“This resolution makes it clear that BHUSD will protect our Jewish families, students and all community members facing discrimination, threats or attacks. As we approach the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks, it is vital that Beverly Hills remain vigilant and united,” a statement from Nazarian read.

However, other members of the Jewish community said the resolution promotes one religion over others and may increase antisemitism by conflating Jewish identity with the state of Israel.

“The school board and the superintendent seem to be fixated on Jewish students, as opposed to the multitudes of other ethnic identities comprising the student body of BHUSD,” resident Andrea Grossman, who is Jewish, said following the resolution’s approval. “BHUSD is diverse. What about the board’s responsibility to all of the students, not just the Jewish students? I feel the board majority has shown a disregard for these other students, when they could spend their time more productively to improve the level of education for all students in the BHUSD.”

The resolution was also condemned by the Greater Los Angeles office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

“By prioritizing symbolic displays of allegiance to Israel – a foreign state accused by every major international human rights organization of genocide, ethnic cleansing and forced starvation in Gaza – over the lived experiences of grieving Palestinian and Arab students, the board has chosen to make a divisive political statement and undermine the inclusive environment schools are supposed to uphold. These students will now face the daily trauma of seeing the flag of the very state killing their families flown over their schools,” CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said in a statement. “To truly address antisemitism, BHUSD must invest in real education about antisemitism and all forms of bigotry, rather than equating Jewish faith and identity with the political actions of a foreign government.”

Although the resolution prompted concerns that the district would violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by promoting a religion, an expert on the Constitution and freedom of speech said the policy does not violate the Constitution.

“Schools – like other government entities – can engage in their own speech, including speech expressing support for foreign countries,” said Eugene Volokh, a former UCLA professor of First Amendment law and the current Thomas M. Siebel Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. “Nor is there an Establishment Clause violation – the flag of Israel is the flag of a nation, not of a religious organization. That the nation has some religious identification doesn’t matter – many countries have an established religion, for instance. To the extent that it is seen by the resolution as representing Jews and not just Israelis, it represents ethnic Jews, not just religious Jews. Indeed, many Israelis aren’t religious. This doesn’t tell us, of course, that the resolution is a good idea on the merits. But it’s not unconstitutional.”

The resolution requiring the display of Israeli flags was brought forward by Board Member Sigalie Sabag, who also created the board policy limiting the discussion of controversial topics in classrooms. Before Sabag was a board member, she spoke out against the discussion of the Civil Rights Movement in an elementary school music classroom, stating that the teacher “took it upon herself to teach the kids about BLM and racism.”

The district is currently being sued by two former Black teachers and a current Black assistant superintendent for allegations of racism, discrimination and harassment. Earlier this month, the district dismissed one of the plaintiffs, Jarvis Turner, the head basketball coach. His attorney Brad Gage said he was fired in retaliation for the lawsuit. Many Black students have also reported being the victims of anti-Black racism during the past school year, particularly in the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election.

Resident and former BHUSD parent Gay Abrams, who is Jewish, spoke out against the resolution and said it should address all forms of hatred instead of antisemitism alone.

“This administration did little to nothing when students, parents and the outside community were concerned – and some outraged – by the unsafe and toxic environment that existed during and after the presidential election,” Abrams said. “How will our Black, Latino and others feel about the resolution that focuses only on antisemitism and Jewish history?”

In an interview, Stern said that while she has a personal love for Israel, she worries that the resolution will risk the district’s standing and the safety of students.

“I have real and pragmatic safety concerns about what is undoubtedly a partisan symbol,” she said. “Despite many of us, myself included, believing Israel is our ancestral homeland, it doesn’t necessarily belong at a public school.”