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 — where Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzger sends his kids and which boasts alums including Nancy Reagan and chewing gum heir William Wrigley Jr. II — allegedly swept the hateful band episode under the rug, never addressed the school community about the May incident, and has stopped answering questions about it, according to messages reviewed by The Post.

The revelation comes as the city of Chicago has become a festering flashpoint of antisemitism. Last week, an Orthodox Jewish man was shot in the shoulder on his way to synagogue, allegedly by an illegal West African migrant who yelled “Allahu Akbar” before opening fire on police. Some in the Jewish community criticized city officials for not initially labeling the incident a hate crime or identifying the victim as Jewish, suggesting it was a cover-up.

One Latin School administrator informed parents he was aware of and investigating the band incident the day it happened, but 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 and that the students were back in school and participating in graduation activities the next day, according to the messages.

“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.”

It took Latin half the school year to address the track incident, according to the lawsuit, and when it finally did, it was allegedly in a closed-door meeting where the 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 and 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.

Other controversial incidents at the school include inviting anti-Israel writer and activist Hoda Katebi to speak to upper school students in 2023. Ketabi was formerly a communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations and 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. Students’ request that her invitation be revoked was denied.

Former head of school Randall Dunn, who was in charge at the time of Bronstein’s death, is now at swanky Rye Country Day School in Westchester. He did not respond to a message from The Post but a rep for Dunn previously said 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 is also the chairman of the powerful National Association of Independent Schools, which oversees 1,600 private schools across the country.

A letter introducing Dunn to the RCDS community falsely stated Nate attended a different school, not Latin School of Chicago, when he died, sources told The Post.

The Latin School did not respond to an inquiry from The Post.