By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer

Bethel Local Schools Superintendent Matthew W. Chrispin informed families with children in the school district via a Dec. 4 letter that the district is “actively investigating the details” of “controversial posts shared by one of our employees on their personal social media platform.”

A day before the superintendent distributed the letter, StopAntisemitism, an American non-profit watchdog organization that combats Jew hatred, had singled out Bethel High School teacher Sevinch Abbasova at its social media sites.

StopAntisemitism posted screenshots of what it claimed were two posts from Abbasova’s social media sites. The first equates Israel’s operations in Gaza with the Nazi Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and death camp complex.

The second shows an individual with a blurred-out face holding a sign that reads, “There is blood on your hands” in what appears to be a school classroom. The letter A in the word hands is rendered as a Jewish star.

“Imagine being a Jewish child in her classroom,” said StopAntisemitism of Abbasova’s alleged first post.

Of the second, StopAntisemitism commented, “Allegedly she is using school property (and possibly an actual student) to create antisemitic propaganda such as this.”

In both instances, StopAntisemitism urged people to email the superintendent to voice their concern, and included Chrispin’s email.

StopAntisemitism has more than 200,000 followers each at its Instagram and X accounts.

According to the district, Abbasova is an English language learner teacher at Bethel High School. As of press time, Chrispin declined to be interviewed by The Observer, stating in an email that the investigation is still in process.

“I assure you that we are working diligently to conclude the investigation promptly,” he added.

According to the Miami County Sheriff’s Office, Bethel High School contacted the sheriff’s office Dec. 4, after Chrispin and the high school had received several emails about Abbasova’s alleged posts. The high school had also received several social media messages about the situation.

The high school later notified the sheriff’s office that no threats had been directed at the school.

In an interview with The Observer, Miami County Sheriff’s Department Chief Steve Lord said he believed the school district contacted his office in case any of the emails or posts might contain personal threats to Abbasova.

“People can express their dissatisfaction with what she said, as long as they’re not threatening her or property or anything else,” Lord said. “What you say can have consequences. Our position is, if it’s not violating the law, then everybody is allowed to condemn what she said. They just can’t threaten her property while they’re doing it. And I don’t know that there have been any allegations of that. It was just, there’s a potential, maybe this could happen, so you should know about it. But our finding is that there’s nothing here that’s actionable. The school would be in charge of regulating how their employees conduct themselves.”

To read the complete January 2024 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.