The Cobb County School District says it’s pausing to reconsider a new logo for one of its elementary schools. Parents and students were outraged when the image was revealed this week, saying it resembles a Nazi war eagle.
District officials say the new logo for the East Side Eagles was based on eagles’ wings worn by U.S. Army colonels. But the design has drawn comparisons to an eagle created by the Nazi party, which has also been adopted by white supremacists.
Dov Wilker, the regional director for the American Jewish Committee, doesn’t think the antisemitic imagery was intentional.
“What it demonstrates to me is a lack of overall education about global issues and historical facts,” he says. “The ignorance that we see when symbols like this are adopted is really scary and something that we should be very concerned about for our community and for the future.”
Wilker says the district could use the apparent mistake to help expand education, especially around the Holocaust.
“My question for the school district really is: ‘How are they going to use this as a learning opportunity for the schools — and the students and the teachers and the employees of the district — as they come back to school?’” he says.
East Side is not currently using the logo. The school system says it’s considering changes. A district spokeswoman issued the following statement:
“Yesterday, we learned of concerns about a new logo at East Side Elementary. The roll-out of this logo has been halted, and we are immediately reviewing needed changes. We understand and strongly agree that similarities to Nazi symbolism are unacceptable. Although this design was based on the U.S. Army colonel’s eagle wings, stakeholder input has been and continues to be important to our schools. We appreciate those who took time to share their thoughts and will make sure all input is reviewed as changes are considered.”
When East Side revealed the new logo on Monday, Cobb parent Stacy Efrat posted on Twitter, “Today my child’s school announced a new logo. Our Jewish family has always felt loved and welcome there. Today they announced a new logo that looks similar to another well-known image. I think (& hope) this was an honest oversight.”
East Side sits across the street from a synagogue, Congregation Etz Chaim.
“I think that’s the thing that really hurts me most,” Wilker says. “There are many members of the synagogue that go to the school. These things don’t have to happen.”
The school board passed an anti-Semitism resolution in the fall of 2021 but has still dealt with several anti-Semitic incidents in schools.
