Antisemitism festers at famed Chicago school including incident where some band members allegedly played Nazi Party anthem: parents
An elite Chicago private school where a bullied student committed suicide has a history of harassment and antisemitism — including a disturbing incident where some band members allegedly played the Nazi Party anthem, according to parents and new details in an ongoing lawsuit.
The $46,000-a-year Latin School of Chicago allegedly swept the hateful band episode under the rug. According to messages reviewed by The Post, the school never addressed the May incident with its community. It has also stopped answering questions about it. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker sends his kids to the school. Its alumni include Nancy Reagan and chewing gum heir William Wrigley Jr. II.
One Latin School administrator told parents he was aware of and investigating the band incident on the day it happened. He later said only a few kids in classes played the hateful tune, according to parent messages.
Angry parents said there were no apparent repercussions for those who participated. According to the messages, the students returned to school and took part in graduation activities the next day.
“Many Jewish families do not feel welcome or cared about,” one Latin School parent told The Post, requesting anonymity for fear of retribution. “The school does not seem concerned for the safety of our kids, which leaves us disappointed and feeling like outsiders in our school community.”
Disturbing new claims are also laid out in a revised $100 million wrongful death suit filed against the school by Robert and Rosellene Bronstein, parents of 15-year-old Nate Bronstein, who committed suicide in January 2022 after alleged persistent bullying in person and online.
The Latin School released a statement at the time saying “allegations of wrongdoing by the school officials are inaccurate and misplaced” and that it would “vigorously defend itself, its faculty and its staff against these unfounded claims.”
During the 2022-23 school year, after Bronstein’s death, a track captain yelled at a Jewish teammate, “Run, Jew boy, run — there’s money at the end!” the family charged in court papers, calling it another example of persistent bullying with “little to no consequences.”
According to the lawsuit, it took Latin half the school year to address the track incident. When it finally did, it allegedly held a closed-door meeting where students were told not to speak about it.
“There is no accountability at Latin School of Chicago — not for students and not for leadership,” the Bronsteins told The Post. “Their entire school community knows it and can see it, so bullies get more and more emboldened. It’s the same rotten culture that destroyed Nate.”
Bronstein’s tormenting started over false rumors that he was unvaccinated. It spiraled into cyberbullying with a classmate even urging him over Snapchat to kill himself, according to the suit.
“There have been numerous antisemitic instances that the school has basically ignored,” another Latin School parent told The Post. “When problems are raised with the school, the school gives platitudes and nothing is done.”
The environment has led some parents to pull their kids out of the school, the parent added.
The school has faced controversy over other incidents. In 2023, it invited anti-Israel writer and activist Hoda Katebi to speak to upper school students. Katebi was formerly a communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. She was also a member of Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Chicago.
“Katebi disagrees with more than just Israel’s policies. She supports organizations that call for Israel’s annihilation,” the co-heads of Latin’s Jewish Student Connection wrote in its school newspaper, The Forum. The students’ request to revoke her invitation was denied.
Former head of school Randall Dunn was in charge at the time of Bronstein’s death. He now works at swanky Rye Country Day School in Westchester. He did not respond to a message from The Post. However, a rep for Dunn previously said the allegations of wrongdoing by him in the Bronsteins’ suit are false and unfounded.
The suit is ongoing and due back in court in December.
Dunn also chairs the National Association of Independent Schools, which oversees 1,600 private schools nationwide.
Sources told The Post that a letter introducing Dunn to the RCDS community falsely stated Nate attended a different school when he died, not Latin School of Chicago.
The Latin School did not respond to an inquiry from The Post.