Anti-Israel graffiti, defaced image of Israel flag at PPS’ Science and Technology Academy
District employee battles administration over response
Rod Rothaus remembered being devastated when he first saw the graffiti at the Pittsburgh Public School’s Science and Technology Academy in Oakland.
On a green wall, written in large letters, was the phrase “End Genocide.”
Rothaus said he asked three school employees how long the graffiti had been there. He was told at least a week, meaning that students saw it during their final week of classes last spring.
“I was heartbroken for the Jewish students that had to walk past that,” Rothaus recalled. “I was furious and offended and, frankly, more than anything, I was hurt.”
Rothaus, a district employee providing IT support to the schools, showed the graffiti to then-Principal Angelique Benjamin and emailed district Superintendent Wayne Walters.
The June graffiti was only the opening salvo in a battle that lasted the entire summer for Rothaus. Later that day, someone asked him if he noticed the Israeli flag on the school wall. It was part of a project of the Middle Eastern North Africa Student Union. He was sent a photo that showed the flag had been painted over and the outline of the Hebrew word chai painted in its place.
Rothaus acknowledged that the message behind the word could be viewed positively, but noted that a word is not a flag. Moreover, the Palestinian flag remained untouched.
He sent a second email to Walters, telling him about the flag, and asked how this type of anti-Israel activity could be tolerated.
“Across the world and all over the world dangerous falsehoods are spreading,” he wrote. “Institutions of higher learning are failing to address them, and the results are all over the news. PPS should not be standing on the sidelines as casual observers. Rather, we should be making our students learn the real truths. What a disgrace to send them off to their futures without this knowledge.”
Two days later, Walters responded with an email saying that Assistant Superintendent Melissa Pearlman would handle the investigation into Rothaus’ concerns.
After several weeks of limited engagement, Rothaus sent the pair another email asking for an update.
“My community demands answers and accountability,” he wrote. “I demand them, too. Please, I beg you help heal this terrible pain.”
Pearlman sent an email with the findings of her investigation nearly a month after Rothaus initially reported the incidents.
She said that the “End Genocide” vandalism was removed by painters over the summer. She also said that video footage was reviewed, and the matter would be addressed by the school.
Pearlman said her investigation found that the vandalism was removed within 24 hours of being painted, which Rothaus contends is not true, saying he first noticed the graffiti on June 14 and another employee at the school told him it was still there on June 17.
As for the Israeli flag, Pearlman acknowledged that the flags were painted by MENA and that the Israeli flag was “initially replaced in the Spring with the intention of adding it back when discourse arose about the importance of keeping the Israel flag arose from students.”
She did not state with whom the discourse took place or why the flag was initially removed.
“Other flags, including the Israeli flag, and other flag-like images will be added at the start of the school year by the students, as this is their project,” she said, before noting that additional conversations will take place between MENA, Pearlman and two other staff members.
For Rothaus. though, the response falls flat.
“Why not paint over the wall and have the students repaint all of the flags?” he asked. “Students will still have to come back to the school, not see the Israeli flag and still see the Palestinian flag.”
In a response to Pearlman, Rothaus said that he was aware that Jewish students were bullied in the school.
“We must wonder,” he wrote, “if the Chai flag had anything to do with this. Painting over a flag and replacing it with a word is denying the legitimate existence of the State of Israel.”
Rothaus also offered to be a part of the conversation with MENA in the new school year.
Rothaus’ fight doesn’t end with the investigation.
In July, while helping the school’s new principal, Shavonne Johnson, with IT issues, Rothaus mentioned that he was the employee who raised the anti-Israel issues.
“I wanted her to know I was the one in the Pearlman email she was copied on and didn’t want it to be weird,” he said. “I reiterated that I wanted the flag replaced or all of them painted over, and said I was willing to speak with MENA so they understand the situation.”
The two parted on good terms, according to Rothaus — or so he thought.
Shortly after returning to his South Side office, Rothaus spoke with his supervisor who told him there was a request that he no longer work at Sci Tech.
Last week, he filed a grievance with his union and a complaint with PPS’ employee relations. He has also reached out to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Community Relations Council and StandWithUs.
In an interview with the Chronicle, Pearlman said she could not discuss Rothaus’ grievance or the events with Johnson, as she was unable to address personnel issues.
The other two incidents, she said, were separate and were being addressed independently.
The graffiti, Pearlman said, is an act of defacing school property. She said that an investigation began within 24 hours of learning about it. The process of removing the graffiti began within the timeframe but, she said, but took more than a day to complete.
Pearlman said that it was important to remove the graffiti as quickly as possible, but she was unwilling to tie it directly to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“That statement encompasses atrocities committed against so many groups and is not just limited to antisemitism but many groups throughout history and all parts of the world — Armenia, Rwanda, Darfur — so that was handled immediately,” she said.
The defacing of the Israeli flag was a different matter since it involved a sanctioned mural painted by a student group that some members then altered. She acknowledged that Jewish students passed the image during the school year but noted that the flag was added back to the mural by Aug. 20, a week before the new school year would begin.
When the new academic year begins, Pearlman said, there will be conversations with both the student group and its faculty adviser.
For Rothaus, the repainting of the flag brings some satisfaction — although he is still not allowed to work at Sci Tech — but he continues to be concerned for the district’s Jewish population.
“I never wanted this to go public,” he said. “I told them several times that I didn’t want to go to the press. I just wanted the graffiti removed and the Israel flag repainted. I’m really upset about what this means for the school’s Jewish community.” PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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