WASHINGTON — Following the report of the discovery of three swastikas at Pelham Middle School last week, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) issued a statement in response to the rise in anti-semitic attitudes in the country. Engel is a chairman of the Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism.

“Children in school should never be subjected to hate, racism, or intolerance of any kind,” Engel said. “All of us in the public space have a moral responsibility to make sure our words and actions are combatting this hate, not fueling the fire. I’m appalled that the President of the United States regularly extols intolerance and anti-Semitism, emboldening others to do the same. We cannot let this behavior and rhetoric be normalized—we must fight anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia and racism of any kind wherever it rears its ugly head.”

Engel said he commended administrators at PMS for their swift action after the incidences and initiative to teach the deeper meaning of the disturbing occurrence, as well as focusing on Holocaust education in the school’s curriculum.