News today that the Orange County District Attorney will file no criminal charges after an investigation into anti-Semitic bullying at Pine Bush schools is unsurprising to attorneys representing the children who brought the civil suit against the school district.
"This case has never been about criminally prosecuting the children who are harassing Jewish students, it’s about changing the way that Pine Bush schools deal with this admittedly pervasive problem," said Adele Kimmel, managing attorney for Public Justice and one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs. "The school district admits the anti-Semitic incidents described in this case happened. The solution is for the schools and community to teach tolerance to the children, not to prosecute them.”
"The school admits this harassment happened to these children," said O. Andrew F. Wilson, another of the children’s attorneys. "Even one incident of anti-Semitism is too much. The Pine Bush schools must partner with the community to educate our children in tolerance.” Wilson is an attorney with Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP.
Ilann M. Maazel, also an attorney for the plaintiffs and partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP, said the civil case is ongoing.
“We are going to pursue justice in this case until justice is done,” Maazel said.
