The Beverly Hills Unified School District will not display the Israeli flag on its campuses, the superintendent said in an Aug. 29 announcement, overriding the board of education’s vote days earlier.
During the meeting, the board members initially agreed not to display the Israeli state flag, citing concerns over potential terror attacks against schools and conflating Jewish people with the government of Israel. Despite this, the board voted to pass the resolution for procedural reasons—it was not able to immediately introduce a new resolution to pass other actions to counter anti-Semitism—but said it would revoke the provision to fly the Israeli flag during its next meeting. Superintendent Alex Cherniss then overrode that vote.
“In light of heightened safety concerns around the displaying of flags on our campuses I have made the decision to take immediate action for the safety and security of our students,” Cherniss said in a statement. “Until further notice, no flags will be displayed on our campuses other than the flag of the United States of America and the flag of the State of California.”
Cherniss ordered the district to limit flag displays to the U.S. and California flags, the board of education said during a special emergency meeting that required the board to formally approve or replace the directive.
Beverly Hills, with a population of about 32,000 and where the median home price is above $3 million, has long been home to a notable Jewish community, including Iranian Jews who fled persecution after the 1979 revolution.
The district, which boasts test scores much higher than the state average, serves about 3,500 students across four elementary schools, one middle school, and Beverly Hills High School.
In recent years, the number of anti-Semitic incidents in schools nationwide has accelerated since the war in Gaza started after Hamas terrorists launched a large-scale attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Greater Los Angeles chapter (CAIR-LA), said the proposal was “deeply insensitive and distressing to Palestinian students who have lost countless family members to Israel’s violent military campaign and the man-made humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”
CAIR-LA also opposed the resolution’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism, which they say conflates criticism of Israel with anti-Jewish bias. They say it has been rejected by more than 100 international organizations.
