Mercer Island Students Made Nazi Gestures On Social Media: MISD

MERCER ISLAND, WA - Mercer Island students were seen in social media posts making Nazi hand gestures, the school district is reporting. The anti-Semitic posts were not created while the students were at school, however.

The district is investigating the incident, and has brought in the Anti-Defamation League of the Pacific Northwest on anti-bias education for students.

The district posted a short statement about the incident on its website Tuesday:

"The Mercer Island School District is aware of social media posts showing high school students making deeply offensive, Nazi hand gestures while off campus. Upon learning of this situation, the District immediately began an investigation.

"We are deeply disturbed and saddened by these images. Although it did not occur on campus, there is no place on Mercer Island for this type of antisemitism or hate speech in any form. We are working with our high school students to ensure that they understand the impact of their actions on our community."

The two male students apparently made the gestures during a recent snow day, according to the Mercer Island Reporter.

Mercer Island is home to a major Jewish Community Center that was one of hundreds around the U.S. targeted by bomb threats in early 2017. But the larger Puget Sound region has seen a rise in high-profile racist and antisemitic incidents.

In Bellevue and Seattle this January, white nationalists dropped literature on lawns. In March 2017, Seattle's Temple De Hirsch Sinai was tagged with Holocaust-denying graffiti. In Edmonds, swastikas were left tagged on cars and buildings in spring 2017. And just two weeks ago, a neighborhood in Sammamish was hit with racist graffiti multiple times.

"Unfortunately, incidents of hate, anti-Semitism, bullying, and racism are occurring with greater frequency in many schools and communities. The measure of any institution is not whether these incidents occur, but how they respond. To this end, we commend Mercer Island High School, the school district administration, and faculty in their efforts to take this issue seriously and address this issue expeditiously," the ADL said of the incident.

The news also comes just one day after students in Orange County, Calif., arranged beer pong cups into the shape of a swastika, and then posted the image on Snapchat.