Antisemitic chant - "You killed Jesus" - at basketball game in Newton, Mass.

At a basketball game last night in the Boston area, between Catholic Memorial School (from West Roxbury) and Newton North High School (with a high Jewish student population), "An estimated 100 young men sitting in the student section cheering for Catholic Memorial shouted, 'You killed Jesus, you killed Jesus,' according to several witnesses who asked not to be identified."

The administration of Catholic Memorial treated the incident seriously, reprimanded the students who had insulted the Jewish students, and had each one go to the principal of Newton North and apologize personally.

Report from the Boston Globe:

NEWTON — The chanting started with a rude taunt: Newton North High School students cheering for their basketball team Friday night shouted, “Where are your girls?” to the fans of Catholic Memorial School, an all-boys school. 

But the response from the Catholic Memorial fans to their opponents, many of whom are Jewish, left the Newton North crowd horrified and upset: “You killed Jesus!” shouted about 50 to 75 Catholic Memorial students. “You killed Jesus!” 

The Newton North students fell silent, their faces registering surprise and anger. 

“I found it chilling,” said Newton Superintendent David Fleishman, who arrived at the game, which was held at Newton South High School, about 20 minutes later. Fleishman said he was immediately approached by a visibly upset parent who told him she was shaken. “In my mind, this is incredibly upsetting and troubling, and they have a lot of work to do at Catholic Memorial,” Fleishman said. 

Fleishman contacted the Anti-Defamation League about the incident, and said Newton students would discuss it at school on Monday. Newton officials will also discuss the Newton fans’ use of a joking reference to male anatomy, which Fleishman acknowledged could also be offensive.

The president of Catholic Memorial issued a statement Saturday condemning the “abhorrent behavior” of the students and promising to work to end it.

“Catholic Memorial School is deeply disturbed by the behavior of a group of student spectators who made an unacceptable chant Friday night while playing Newton North High School,” said Catholic Memorial President Peter F. Folan in a statement Saturday. “Catholic Memorial School believes deeply that intolerance, of any kind, is unacceptable. We apologize for the actions of our students and we will continue to strenuously address this issue within our community.”