As Ben Shuldiner begins his tenure as superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, he’s got his hands full: The district is dealing with, among other things, a sharp decline in enrollment, a roughly $100 million budget deficit and serious gun violence issues, including the deaths of two students who were killed in a shooting outside a district high school on Friday.

Adding to his plate, SPS has also made headlines in recent years with a series of high-profile antisemitic incidents, and Shuldiner, who is Jewish, knows he will likely be called to account for them. “What I’d say to Jewish readers, or anyone who wants to be an ally: if you see something bad, tell us. And we must act. If something is brought to me and we don’t deal with it, that’s on me. You should come after me — just give me a couple days to find a place to live first,” he told The Cholent, a local Seattle blog, in November. 

Shuldiner, 48, who took the helm at SPS on Feb. 1, comes from a family of New York educators. “From the earliest days of my life, my secular humanist Jewish faith has been both a personal anchor and a guide for my public service. The values, rituals and historical consciousness I carry have deeply shaped the way I approach my work in education. I do not separate who I am from how I lead,” he wrote in an essay for The School Superintendents Association in November. 

“Perhaps the most visceral and powerful concept in our faith is tikkun olam, repairing the world,” he continued. “In the context of public education, it means working to make our schools places of justice and equity and teaching students that their learning is connected to making the world better.”

Shuldiner, who previously served as superintendent for Lansing School District in Michigan, told Jewish News Syndicate in December about moving to deeply progressive Seattle, “Politically, it’s a lot better for me. I can say words like ‘equity’ and not look over my shoulder too often.” 

When questioned about antisemitism, he often takes a broader view of combating hate. Asked about his approach to anti-Jewish hate, Shuldiner told The Cholent, “I’ve already received emails highlighting all sorts of concerns. I’ve heard the same about sexism and racism. What you’re describing seems part of a larger issue: people being attacked or maligned not getting the district’s full protection. … If antisemitism has been shoved under the rug, that’s horrible and needs fixing. But I’m hearing similar concerns across multiple identities.”

“And let’s be clear: when Black kids are suspended at five times the rate of white kids, that’s a systemic issue too, just like antisemitism. SPS needs to address all of this in a pointed, specific way and not downplay it as ‘not that bad’ or ‘you’re privileged.’ Bigotry is unacceptable in any form,” he continued.

He told JNS on the same topic, “If somebody is feeling unsafe, if somebody is feeling attacked, then you have to look at that and decide if that is true or not. At the end of the day, all I can tell you is I would want every child in the district to feel safe and secure and be able to go to class unencumbered and go to school unencumbered. That would be for a Jewish child, a Muslim child, an East African child, a kid that lives down the street.”

Jewish families at SPS have faced an increasingly hostile environment since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks in Israel, including student walkouts last October protesting the war in Gaza where students burned Israeli flags and held signs reading “Power grows from the barrel of a gun” and “Long Live Operation Al Aqsa Flood,” referencing Hamas’ name for the Oct. 7 attacks.

In a statement to Jewish Insider on Shuldiner’s first days as superintendent, a spokesperson said he had “met with student journalists, some of whom asked about his views on student walkouts and protest activity. In response, he emphasized students’ constitutional right to free expression, while also underscoring the importance of keeping students in school and engaged in learning. He noted that the district’s responsibility is to strike an appropriate balance that honors students’ rights while maintaining safe, supportive learning environments.”

One Jewish family is suing the district over claims that it failed to respond to antisemitic harassment their daughter experienced that started shortly after the Oct. 7 attacks and eventually led her to leave Nathan Hale High School, including an incident in May 2024 in which 20 students allegedly tried to assault her before a teacher locked her in a classroom for protection.

In another incident, the chair of the social studies department at an SPS high school was placed on paid administrative leave for a year over a video in which he questioned the validity of accusations of sexual violence by Hamas on Oct. 7 and said, in reference to women being killed at the Nova music festival, “I think resistance against Israel is justified.” The district has now moved to terminate him.

Asked about the latter incident, Shuldiner told JNS that “everybody gets due process. That’s kind of the deal. I would hope that if I was ever accused of something, I would be afforded due process as well.”

Still, Jewish leaders are hopeful that any shakeup of SPS will bring better outcomes. 

Aviad Benzikry, a Jewish SPS parent and board member of The Kids Table, a PAC in Washington state supporting what it describes as “pro-Jewish candidates,” said he’s “cautiously optimistic after seeing superintendent after superintendent cycle through SPS.” Shuldiner will be the district’s third superintendent in the past year.

But, Benzikry told Jewish Insider, “action [or] inaction will tell. We have seen student and faculty (mis)behavior swept under the rug across Seattle when it comes to antisemitism in particular. That said, my family has been fortunate and we are grateful for the teachers our children have had who have consistently supported their proud Jewish identity.”

State Sen. Lisa Wellman, a Jewish Democrat who chairs the state Senate’s Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee, said she’s requested a meeting with Shuldiner as he assumes his role and is “looking forward to meeting him and understanding how he intends to handle issues of antisemitism, as well as ‘other-ing’ generally at a time when young people need to feel included.”

“Attention needs to be paid to creating an atmosphere where all feel seen, heard and valued,” Wellman, whose district includes the Jewish community of Mercer Island, told JI.

Shuldiner was confident he’ll be able to bridge the gap with Jewish families. “You’ll see as I start my job that there’s going to be a kind of clarion call to bring the community back into the schools to start tutoring and mentoring and creating those relationships. And I think once you do that, much of the disconnect that might be felt will dissipate. Now, I don’t believe that it all goes away. I mean, people have hated the Jews forever, but we’re in this together,” he told The Cholent. 

And he doesn’t plan to disconnect from his Jewish roots: “Education, action, questioning — it’s all Judaism to me, as much as a bagel from the Upper West Side.”

This story was updated on Feb. 5 with comment from Superintendent Shuldiner’s spokesperson.