The East Brunswick school district has hired an independent investigator to determine how a photo of a Jewish student club was replaced with an image of Muslim students in the high school yearbook.
The school district initially opened its own internal investigation to determine how the switch was made, East Brunswick Superintendent Victor Valeski said Friday. But, district officials decided to hire an independent counsel after hearing from the community.
“We wanted to make sure this process was very fair, thorough and transparent,” Valeski said.
The superintendent did not say who was hired to do the investigation or how much it would cost.
Seniors received the 2024 yearbook earlier this week with a page listing the Jewish Student Union in a section for school clubs. However, the names of the students in the Jewish club were missing and the photo that should have been on the page was replaced with an image of Muslim students at the school, including some wearing hijabs.
School officials have not said if they believe the switch was a deliberate act of antisemitism, a prank, an error or something else.
The school board approved Valeski’s recommendation to hire independent counsel during a long school board meeting Thursday that ran until midnight, school officials said.
“One of the things we heard last night clearly from Jewish and Muslim students is the pain they’re feeling as a result of this incident,” Valeski told NJ Advance Media Friday.
The district heard comments from students on Thursday about bullying, intimidation, antisemitism and bias in East Brunswick schools, Valeski said.
The district will reexamine its protocols for harassment, intimidation and bullying — known as HIB — to make sure the existing policy addresses students’ needs, Valeski said.
“We are committed to supporting our students, both their academic health and their emotional health,” Valeski said.
School officials were made aware at 2 p.m. Tuesday that the Jewish Student Union entry in the high school yearbook was “accompanied by a photograph that is not associated with them in any way,” Valeski said Wednesday in a statement on the school website.
“What resulted is a page in the yearbook that does not look like any of the others and has been open for interpretation overnight. A variety of press releases were published to social media sites and shared extensively over the past eight hours, as well, further escalating an issue that I am currently investigating,” Valeski said.
The incident is a “blatant” antisemitic act, East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen said in a statement earlier this week. But, he said he’ll wait for the results of the investigation.
Cohen also questioned whether the incident rises to the level of a hate crime and how the perpetrator will be punished.
“I personally, along with the entire East Brunswick Board of Education, sincerely apologize for the hurt, pain and anguish this event has caused our Jewish students, their families and the impact this continues to have on the entire EB community,” Valeski said in his statement.
In a separate statement issued late Wednesday, Valeski said he also wanted “to offer sincere apologies to our Muslim students and families, as well. I am aware that the picture placed in the yearbook has caused pain for our Muslim students and for that I am deeply sorry.”
The incident has triggered “heinous backlash against some Muslim students who had no knowledge on their photo being misused,” said Aya Elamroussi, communication manager of the Council on American-Islamic Relations-New Jersey chapter.
“The hateful comments attacking Muslim high school students are deplorable. We call on East Brunswick’s mayor and public schools superintendent to offer support to their Muslim student community and be leaders for the entire township,” Elamroussi said Thursday in a statement.
Elamroussi also criticized the East Brunswick mayor’s comments for omitting “the distressful impact this has had on Muslim community members who are equally a part of his constituency. "
East Brunswick school district is offering counseling to any student requesting it, Valeski said.
The yearbooks, which were not distributed to any students other than seniors, will be collected, Valeski said.
The district is working with its yearbook publisher to reprint and professionally replace the tampered pages of the yearbook.
The superintendent said that he will report “all the facts” once they become available.
In the meantime, Valeski asked “individuals and organizations to slow their rush to judgment.”
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Jackie Roman may be reached at jroman@njadvancemedia.com.
