Case Study:
Sumrall v. Ali , No. 1:25-cv-2277 (TNM), 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 149422 (D.D.C. Aug. 4, 2025)
In November 2024, Kimmara Sumrall attended a pro-Israel counter-protest at the Dirksen Senate Building in Washington, D.C. She wore an Israeli flag tied around her neck as a cape—a visible display of her Jewish heritage. Janine Ali, who had come to participate in a pro-Palestinian demonstration organized by Code Pink, walked behind Sumrall and yanked the flag downward, choking her. Sumrall filed a federal civil suit under the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in the enjoyment of legal protections for the security of persons and property. The court held that:
- “[P]urposefully yanking on an Israeli flag tied around a Jewish person’s neck to choke them is direct evidence of racial discrimination.”
- “Battery, particularly involving a racial symbol, is strong evidence of racial discrimination… It is more severe than “[r]acial slurs or statements”
- “The Star of David—emblazoned upon the Israeli flag—symbolizes the Jewish race.,” and that targeting it is “as racially motivated as the highly offensive racial slur n*”
- “Battery is not a legitimate form of protest” and that “it is much more likely that she was intentionally attacking a Jewish person wearing a Jewish flag as a symbol of her racial heritage.” In the school context, this means that if another student targets Jewish symbols on your person, such as yanking your child’s Star of David necklace, rips away an Israeli flag, that conduct is both a battery and evidence of race-based discrimination. The school’s obligation is to treat it as such—not to minimize it as a “political disagreement” or dismiss it as kids being kids. If the school fails to discipline the offender or take corrective action, the school may be liable for deliberate indifference under Title VI, and the individual who committed the act may face personal liability under § 1981 and state tort law.
42 U.S.C. § 1981 and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act: Jews are recognized as a protected racial and ethnic group under the federal civil rights statutes. Shaare Tefila Congregation v. Cobb , 481 U.S. 615 (1987). Section 1981 applies to private actors — meaning it can be used against the individual who committed the act, not just against the school. Title VI applies to the school itself: when the physical targeting of Jewish religious symbols occurs at school and the school fails to respond, it may be liable for deliberate indifference in permitting a hostile educational environment.
State tort law (battery, assault): Any intentional harmful or offensive touching —including grabbing, yanking, or tearing clothing or personal property from someone’s body—constitutes battery under state tort law. The victim may sue the individual who committed the act for compensatory and, in egregious cases, punitive damages.
What families should take from this: If another student grabs, yanks, tears, or damages your child’s Jewish religious symbols or clothing — a Star of David necklace, a kippah, an Israeli flag — that is not a schoolyard prank. It is battery and evidence of racial discrimination. Document the incident immediately: what was taken or damaged, who did it, when, where, and who witnessed it. Photograph any damage. Report it to the school in writing the same day. If the school treats it as a minor disciplinary matter rather than a civil rights violation, document that response — it is evidence of deliberate indifference.