Anti-Semitic Remark Recorded At Robotics Event In Nassau School

MINEOLA, NY — The head of Mineola's public school district has denounced an anti-Semitic remark made by a judge during a robotics competition. During the weekend of Feb. 8, a FIRST Lego League robotics competition was held at Mineola High School.

In a video recording of the event obtained by News 12 Long Island, a volunteer judge for the competition can be heard muttering "G-- d--- Jews." The remark came as about a dozen Woodmere Middle School students were presenting. Specifically, as one student mentioned that the United Hebrew Community of New York bought a former Church building.

On Feb. 13, Hewlett-Woodmere Public Schools told parents in a letter that its administrators reached out to event organizers to launch an investigation into what happened. The district called the remark "appalling."

"Representatives from the First Lego League have informed us that the judge who made the inappropriate comment is not a teacher and is banned from participation in any of their future events," the district said. "The individual has taken responsibility for her actions and plans to apologize to the students and parents involved."

Michael Nagler, the superintendent of the Mineola School District, told the Mineola American in a statement that the district "vehemently denounces the comments."

"The competition judges were not Mineola employees and no Mineola students were involved in the incident," he said.

FIRST Lego League facilitates robotics tournaments and the high school only served as a volunteer facility, he stressed.

The organization also condemned the remark, telling the newspaper in a statement: "What was said on the video is disgraceful and has no place in society, let alone at a youth school event."

In 2018 and 2019, there were more than 7,0000 incidents of extremism or anti-Semitism in the United States, according to the Anti-Defamation League, including 668 in New York and three in Mineola. Anti-Semitic vandalism, white supremacist propaganda, harassment and violent targeting Jews has been recorded across the state in recent years. In Mineola, three cases of anti-Semitic graffiti have been recorded, all in 2018.

Nearby communities have also seen incidences of hate speech in recent years.

In Westbury, a water drain was vandalized with swastika graffiti in April 2019. Three anti-Semitic cases were recorded in Levittown, two involving anti-Semitic graffiti found on playground equipment and the other which involved high-schoolers altering a screenshot of the school district's website to include anti-Semitic messages. The photo was then shared with others in a group chat.