By John Schwing

WESTPORT — An online allegation that a Staples High School student, touring a Nazi death camp in Germany with fellow students, told a Jewish classmate, “You should have burned here,” has been debunked, according to findings of a week-long investigation announced Friday by Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice.

Following what Scarice called a “thorough” investigation by Staples administrators, he reported they found no merit to the claim posted April 21 on Twitter by the group, StopAntisemitism.

However, StopAntisemitism stands by the allegation, its leader said in a response to a request for comment by the Westport Journal.

The group’s Tweet stated that during the Staples group’s spring tour of Germany, the students visited the Dachau concentration camp, where the anti-semitic remark was allegedly made by one student to another.

“When the group returned back to school, no action was taken against the student by James Farnen (Assistant Principal) or Stafford Thomas (Principal),” the StopAntisemitism Tweet read.

“According to other students,” the Tweet continued, “this particular young man has a history of making antisemitic/pro-Nazi remarks.”

After learning about the online allegation last week, Scarice announced that an investigation was initiated immediately by Thomas, Farnen and other administrators at the high school.

In the superintendent’s followup statement Friday, he reported, “the administration has concluded a thorough investigation and did not find any evidence to support this claim posted on Twitter.”

But Liora Rez, StopAntisemitism’s executive director, responding to school officials’ statement, told the Westport Journal that the organization “firmly stands by its report on incidents at Staples High. Multiple students have reached out to confirm allegations of antisemitic activity, as well as the apathy of school administrators. 

“Classmates report that the student responsible for antisemitic comments was actually removed from the Dachau concentration camp at the time, contradicting Superintendent Thomas Scarice’s claim that no evidence was found to support the allegations,” the statement adds.

The superintendent could not be contacted for a response to StopAntisemitism’s Friday comments.

When Scarice announced the probe last week, he said he generally refrains from making public comments about social-media postings, but said he made an exception because, “I want our school community to know that we take claims of antisemitism and other hate-based conduct extremely seriously.”

Announcing the investigation findings Friday, Scarice said, “I do not ordinarily report back to the community on the results of investigations concerning students. However, this is an extraordinary situation in which an anonymous, unverified complaint was posted on social media.

“As a result, this spread far and wide in the community, and understandably generated tremendous disruption and outrage,” he added.

“I feel a responsibility to help mitigate the damage that this rumor has caused to our school community by providing closure on this specific matter.”

StopAntisemitism’s Rez, however, feels the issue has not been adequately addressed.

Staples “alumni have reported a pattern of antisemitic activity at Staples that includes swastikas and the phrase ‘kill the Jews’ etched into bathroom walls; complaints were met with similar apathy from school administrators,” Rez said.

Scarice, in his Friday statement, reiterated that any other allegations concerning “hate-based conduct, harassment or discrimination” concerning Westport schools, students or staff will be treated seriously and investigated.

If any claims are substantiated, he added, they will be addressed in “appropriate ways.”

He said although the claim in this case was unsubstantiated by school investigators, officials are prepared to act on any other hate-based incidents that might come to light.

“I want to take this opportunity to share an important reminder that we must all remain vigilant in the face of discrimination and hate-based remarks,” Scarice concluded.

John Schwing, the Westport Journal consulting editor, has held senior editorial and writing posts at southwestern Connecticut media outlets for four decades. Learn more about us here.