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Antisemitism: Basketball coach at Colorado school hung Palestinian flag during a game, refused to shake hands with his Jewish colleague

The coach was suspended from the Lotus School For Excellence, whose principal maintained that the institution "does not tolerate any form of antisemitism or behavior that undermines our values."

Pro-Hamas demonstration in Denver.Jason Connolly / AFP

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A basketball coach at the Lotus School For Excellence in Colorado hung a Palestinian flag Wednesday during a game against Denver Academy of Torah, a Jewish school in the same state, and refused to shake hands with fellow opponents once after the game, The New York Post reported.

A group of parents who were at the game said some members of the basketball team followed their coach's example and also did not shake hands with the Jewish students, nor did they interact with them, The Jerusalem Post noted.

Strong repudiation of the coach's actions

Brandon Rattiner, senior director of the Colorado Jewish Community Relations Council, said he was deeply disappointed by the event.

"I think everybody in the Jewish community is very aware that there’s been a rising tide of antisemitism since Oct. 7," he stated.

"The key issue here is when the coach refuses to engage with a Jewish coach and Jewish students simply because they are Jewish or holding them personally accountable for a conflict started, not by Israel by the way, halfway across the world thousands and thousands of miles away," he said in remarks to The New York Post.

"Holding Jewish people accountable for the state actions of Israel is a textbook form of antisemitism," he added.

Coach suspended

The Lotus School For Excellence coach and one of his assistants, whose identities have not been released, were suspended.

Ermek Bakyt, principal of the educational institution, said, "As a public charter school, Lotus School for Excellence (LSE) does not encourage or tolerate the display of any political or religious symbols," The New York Post indicated.

"As a public school committed to respect, inclusion, and equity, Lotus School for Excellence does not tolerate any form of antisemitism or behavior that undermines our values," the principal added.

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