Online post of California students forming "human swastika"

A photo of eight high school students forming a "human swastika" on a California football field went viral online last week, spurring an outcry from the Jewish community and political leaders across Silicon Valley.



The social media post showing the students lying on the ground in the shape of the Nazi symbol was posted online on Dec. 3, along with a 1939 antisemitic quote from Adolf Hitler calling for the annihilation of Jews.



The incident began to garner national attention on Tuesday. The image was eventually deleted from Instagram, but screenshots remain online, including one posted by a member of the California State Assembly, Gail Pellerin, who said the youths pictured were students at Branham High School in San Jose.



Pellerin was not immediately available for further comment.



Antisemitic incidents, which had been on the rise in the U.S. for years, spiked after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants and Israel's subsequent military offensive in Hamas-controlled Gaza.



The Jewish watchdog group, the Anti-Defamation League, reported in its annual audit that in 2024 there were more than 9,300 antisemitic incidents across the U.S., marking a 5 percent increase from 2023 and a 344 percent increase over the last five years.