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Order Michael Finch’s new book, A Time to Stand: HERE. Prof. Jason Hill calls it “an aesthetic and political tour de force.”
It is no secret that Jew hatred continues to permeate American public education. In the latest instance—caught only by happenstance—an elementary school principal thought he’d ended a phone message to a parent only to give voice to a vicious antisemitic rant that was caught on the parent’s voicemail.
Philip Leddy has served as principal of Lower Gwynedd Elementary School in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, since the fall of 2023. Last week, Leddy placed a call and left a message for a local father who has two children attending the school regarding an email the father had sent regarding his daughter.
An audio recording of the message reveals Leddy politely identifying himself and leaving a quick message, followed by a click where he intended to hang up the phone. Then the drama begins.
Leddy starts speaking about the father, who is a personal acquaintance of his, to a female office staffer, explaining that their children both go to the same summer camp which he calls a “Jew camp.” Leddy claims that “everyone at the camp hates the family” and the father is a “hot head” who frequently “blows up” at people. Those statements would be bad enough, but Leddy takes it much further.
The office staffer asks what the father’s profession is. Leddy replies that he’s not sure, the father “shows up in sweats and stuff” but “It doesn’t matter they have that Jew money,” adding, “they control the banks, y’know.”
After receiving this outrageous diatribe against both his person and his faith, the father, who wishes to remain anonymous, first called the school board and then marched over to Leddy’s office to confront him in person.
“I asked him if the misunderstanding was about my Jew money, the Jew this, Jew that. And the color from his face just disappeared, he couldn’t believe he was caught, and he was apologetic,” the father told a local news channel.
The school district claims that Leddy “self-reported” his antisemitic comments and acknowledged that they were inappropriate, but the father maintains that he reported it first and Leddy only admitted it once he knew he’d been caught.
“His rhetoric was just too easy; he chose the lowest form of like antisemitism,” the father said, describing the casual way Leddy threw around terms like “Jew camp” and “Jew money.”
To its credit, the Wissahickon School District acted quickly, putting Leddy immediately on administrative leave and recommending him for termination. His biography was also removed from the school’s website. The female staffer who engaged in the recorded conversation with Leddy was also placed on leave.
“We are truly shocked and sickened that a school leader trusted with the safety and well-being of students and staff would speak this way,” Wissahickon Superintendent Dr. Mwenyewe Dawan said.
Astoundingly, prior to serving as Principal of Lower Gwynedd, Leddy had served the school district in another capacity—as the Committee Chair for its Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. That revelation lends credence to the charge that DEI promotes discrimination against disfavored minority groups, while granting special privileges to others. According to Leddy’s now-deleted school biography, “[he] prides himself on developing, supporting and maintaining a positive school culture that emphasizes belongingness and collaboration.”
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia issued a scathing statement about the incident, noting that Leddy’s words “rely on well-known antisemitic stereotypes that reduce a parent to caricature and signal hostility rather than respect.”
“In conversation with others in the office, he used antisemitic phrases, including references to ‘Jew camp,’ allegations that the parent has ‘Jew money,’ and the claim that ‘they [Jews] control the banks.’ At one point, when asked whether the parent was a lawyer, he responded, ‘the odds probably are good,’” described the Jewish Federation. “These are deeply rooted antisemitic tropes that have historically been used to demean, marginalize, and endanger Jewish people.”
“I do not believe the actions and words of this principal reflect the views of our staff entirely,” Superintendent Dawan told a local news channel. “One person’s hateful actions should not negatively impact the way our community views the rest of our staff.”
But as many have pointed out, Leddy was not ranting solely to himself—he was speaking to a junior staff member and seemed assured that his Jew hatred would receive a positive reception.
“This incident points to a broader, systemic issue,” wrote the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. “The presence of others in the room, the lack of challenge or interruption, and the comfort with which these remarks were spoken raise serious questions about culture, accountability, and oversight within the school environment.”
Ah, yes. The typical “placed on leave” consequence. They’re on (paid) leave for a short while and then quietly brought right back into their position. Maybe even promoted.
For sure, the Teacher’s Union is working diligently on the issue of him keeping his position or an equal one at another school within the system.
Perhaps the dad is a pushy ass hole prick but that has nothing to do with him being Jewish. In fact, with antisemitism being white hot, we Jews must set a better example and perhaps punching out antisemites, but don’t act like and entitled byatch because you are a successful lawyer with money.
However. G-D might has set this school principal up fed up with his vocal blatant antisemitisms in his role as a leader of education for children!
FAFO – well, this principal did this to a lawyer and the lawyer holds all the cards now.
It would be justified for the lawyer to sue the school district and the principal to set precedents and to send a message about this flagrant, irresponsible, lying and hateful antisemitism that is not perpetual. It will stop and it will stop in a hard, abrupt and startling fearful way to the unrepentant antisemites!
What? you’re blaming the victim here.
Personally, we Jews need to be much much more assertive and litigious too, when possible and appropriate.
This parent could have bowed and squeaked, and smiled up at the anti-Semitic DEI boor, as you suggest and all those insults would still have been spoken.
How do I know.? I carefully maintained a polite friendly and kind demeanor only to be called “Jew-bitch”behind my back in a similar situation. I was informed of it because, unlike this school district, and unlike you, commenter, there was a good decent person in the room to inform me.
This anti-Semitic behavior occurs irrespective of the Jewish person’s, actions, demeanor, or financial status. Hate. is hate.
You have been bitten by the hate bug. Find an exterminator.
Blaming the victim? Way to go you antisemite ! Post elsewhere.
Calling a fellow jew antisemetic? classic antisemitism
“.. we Jews must set a better example” – why? Why MUST Jews set any kind of ‘example’ among other law-abiding Americans?
Why is it that Western Nations’ leaders, especially in Europe, are deliberately shipping millions of Muslims into their Nations ?
“The number of Muslims in Europe has grown from 29.6 million in 1990 to 44.1 million in 2010. Europe’s Muslim population is projected to exceed 58 million by 2030.”
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/01/europeans_will_succumb_to_islam_says_former_intelligence_chief.html
The Principal need to apologies for being such aa total Buffoon
Of course the father wishes to remain anonymous because he will receive death threats directed at him and his family. I red that Leddy has been fired which was quite swift considering how the liberals running our schools usually drag these things out hoping everyone forgets.
Another good reason to home school. People are subjecting their children to this.
Many of us who are Jews know this experience all too well. We have often being treated with reasonable politeness only to discover time and again, that if you just so much as scratch the surface, the kind of rant this principal spewed is right there in the hearts and minds of non-Jews. I think this dynamic is, among other things, at play with Megyn Kelly. As a non-Jew, she had the luxury of seeming to care, as she seemed to in the immediate aftermath of 10/7, but when it no longer suits her, wow do the knives come out and the venom is strong. Those of us who are Jewish don’t have the luxury of being fickle as our mood suits us. We know our lives are on the line and it can be challenging trying to run between the raindrops.
It’s scary how easy people are steered toward hate and scapegoating, as if
they must hate someone else to feel “good” about their fake superiority.
The stupidity is incomprehensible. The reality is that Israel and the Jewish people
have given the world the foundation of western civilization, self-government,
respect for human life, moral fiber, and striving for education and excellence.
But look at our leftist controlled cities: moral decay, poverty, rotten schools,
high crime, unaffordable housing, lawlessness, homelessness, drug addiction . . .
Anti-semites will destroy us all if given the power.
Update: The principal is now identifying as a black reverend. As with the cases of both anti-Semites “Reverend” Jesse Jackson and “Reverend Sharpton,” he is now expected to be given a pass and run in a Democratic Presidential primary.
The consistently referred to tropes about we Jews “owning the world” is but humanity in complete disregard for its own malevolence.
If we really did own the world as these arrogant, idiotic antisemites are constantly saying, I guarantee this world would be completely transformed with human suffering significantly eliminated and the most creative, innovative solutions discovered and implemented in affirmation of life. The evil in which too much of our worldwide population exists would see the warranted punishments of unmitigated greed. avarice, and the constant coveting for power over others. As history and the present have already shown, we are a people of exceptional contributions to humanity…from advanced medical innovations, theoretical physics in exploration of the universe, economics, defense, computer technology, agricultural advancements and water desalination technologies as well as many others. All of these are designed to uplift humanity and bring much needed light and healing into an increasingly depraved world where the nations (non-Jews) are eating the weak in consumption of their insatiable desires to subjugate all of humanity under totalitarian rule.
Any close inspection in a mirror would render these antisemites silenced as the scenes of their own evil indulgences at others’ expense would be in techno-vision and them continuing to sidestep their responsibilities impossible.
The total irrationality of blaming a population of .02% of 8+ billion people for the failings of ALL humanity is yet again evidence of human cowardice in facing themselves and their willingness to place blame anywhere but where it
belongs.
We Jews have a long history of surviving these unwarranted abominations against us and yet when non-Jews are confronted with these historical realities, they run like exposed children into a world of fantasy where their egregious behavior finds sanctuary from reality.
If we really owned the world, it would be nothing like this planet now littered with human evil and you can take that to the bank!!
move along now , nothing to see here .