This is the shocking moment a Jewish teacher was forced to hide in her classroom at a Queens high school as students rampaged through the halls demanding she be fired for attending a pro-Israel rally.
In the video, students can be seen waving Palestine flags and jumping through the school’s hallways.
Another clip showed students running wildly through the school’s hallways during the ordeal.
Students at Hillcrest High School in New York City rioted at school for two hours on Monday.
The incident occurred after images emerged of a Jewish teacher at the school attending a pro-Israel rally.
A teacher at the school told the Post that administrators and NYPD officers rushed to the teacher’s aid and locked her bedroom door
In a statement to the New York Post, the teacher, who did not want to be identified, said she has worked as an educator in the New York City public school system for 23 years.
She has worked at Hillcrest High School for the past seven years.
“I have worked hard to support our entire student body and advocate for our community,” she said.
‘[I] The calls for violence against me that emerged online and outside of my classroom last week shocked me to the core.
“No one should ever feel unsafe at school – neither students nor teachers.” I hope that in the days ahead we can find a way to have meaningful discussions about challenging topics while recognizing each other’s different perspectives and shared humanity respect.
“If we don’t learn to see each other as people, we will never be able to create a safe learning community.”
A high school student told the outlet that it was the teacher’s support for Israel that sparked the aggression at Queens High School.
“The teacher was seen holding a sign of Israel as if supporting it,” they said.
“A bunch of kids decided to have a group chat, expose them, talk about it, and then talk about starting a riot.”
A four-day ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war began in Gaza on Friday under an agreement brokered by Qatar.
Twenty-four hostages were released, including 13 Israeli citizens, 10 Thai citizens and one Filipino citizen, Qatar said. Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners later in the day.
In a video shared on social media sites such as TikTok and X, students can be seen waving Palestinian flags and frequently jumping up and down in the hallways
Other images show how some students took it upon themselves to ruin a bathroom
But the bloody war has cost thousands of lives and sparked violent protests and clashes between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel supporters.
The riot at Hillcrest High School was well documented online, with the chaos captured in a number of photos and videos.
They showed large crowds of students gathering in school hallways, chanting and running wild.
In a video shared on TikTok and X (formerly Twitter), students can be seen waving Palestine flags while jumping up and down the corridors.
Other images show the destruction of bathrooms as others tried to break into the classroom of the terrified teacher who was hiding from the rioting crowd.
An educator who spoke to the outlet said administrators and NYPD officers rushed to help the teacher after she locked herself in the classroom.
According to New York City Councilman James Gennaro, the New York Police Department sent officers to the school and called in its counterterrorism bureau to investigate.
“The counterterrorism task force will not be deployed unless it believes there may be a serious situation,” Gennaro said.
NYPD officers escorted the teacher safely out of the building, but older students told the Post they knew her phone number and home address.
Critics slammed the student group, with one person saying she was “embarrassed to be part of this generation.”
A teacher at the school, seen here, said administrators and NYPD officers rushed to the teacher’s aid and locked her bedroom door
The construction workers’ actions have since been praised on social media
“This school needs to be investigated for its educational failure.”
Another commented: “Drive them all away.”
This comes amid growing levels of anti-Semitism in the city following Hamas’ deadly October 7 attack on Israel.
Last month, two construction workers beat up a man they caught tearing down leaflets depicting Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas.
The men sprang into action after they saw a man pulling down flyers attached to light poles at the corner of 67th Drive and 109th Street in Queens.
You hear one of them say: “I’m not a Jew, he’s not a Jew.” It doesn’t matter. This is the damn USA, this is New York City.
“You don’t have the fucking right to touch this shit.” This is a free country, you can wave your Palestine flag and say death to the Jews or America whenever you want. But we can put up signs. OK.’
There was also a large-scale pro-Palestine demonstration in Brooklyn, where thousands of demonstrators closed the famous Brooklyn Bridge.
The “Flood Brooklyn for Palestine” protest drew thousands of demonstrators who held signs reading “Free Palestine” and “Zionism is Terrorism.”
Other posters read: “Biden is funding genocide” and “Occupation is a crime.”
Due to the protest, which also attracted members of the Orthodox Jewish community who led the protest, the Jewish population had been warned to avoid the area for security reasons.