A UN-affiliated school in Manhattan failed to address an antisemitic harassment campaign against a Jewish teacher despite her reporting it, and instead launched a 15-month inquest into her, which led to her losing her job.
The teacher, Nadine Sébag, has filed against the United Nations International School (UNIS) with the support of the National Jewish Advocacy Center.
The action against UNIS comes after its alleged "prolonged and willful failure" to address extensively reported antisemitic discrimination, harassment, and hostility directed at Sébag between September 2022 and June 2024. According to the filing, UNIS senior leadership ignored her complaints, concealed the misconduct, and retaliated against her for reporting it.
The campaign against Sébag began with her teaching colleague, Ms. Nehad Soliman, "whose antisemitic and anti-French invective quickly escalated into a sustained and targeted campaign of harassment and discrimination." According to the filing, UNIS administrators and senior leadership, including Executive Director Dr. Dan Brenner, were fully aware of what was taking place.
When Sébag ultimately submitted formal complaints, UNIS reportedly failed to investigate or intervene. Sébag did not receive a single "substantive response" from UNIS to any of her eight complaints documenting the antisemitic and national origin discrimination she was experiencing and requesting intervention.
Instead, UNIS "permitted it to continue and subjected Plaintiff to further scrutiny and retaliatory treatment."
Details of the harassment
Sébag said she was drawn to UNIS Manhattan because of its claim to foster mutual respect and inclusion among individuals of differing religions, nationalities, races, and cultural backgrounds.
However, she found that the workplace climate was hostile toward Jewish faculty, dismissive of their concerns, and tolerant of reported antisemitic conduct.
It is worth noting, as context, that the campaign against Sébag happened against the backdrop of UNIS’s substantial financial relationships with foreign government donors, including the Sultanate of Oman and the State of Qatar. Public materials indicate that, since approximately 2011, UNIS has received and secured pledges totaling more than $110 million from those governments.
After joining the school, Sébag began sharing an office space with Soliman, who reportedly began subjecting Plaintiff to repeated antisemitic and anti-French remarks, such as that Jews are driven by money, that Jews control UNIS and New York, and that French people are inherently racist.
On several occasions, Soliman became physically confrontational with Sébag, forcing the latter to de-escalate the situation. By February 2023, the harassment had persisted for months, and Sébag had reported it to senior administration.
During the discussion, the head of the junior school "framed the conversation in a manner that suggested Plaintiff’s statements to Ms. Soliman reflected bias against Muslims, even though Plaintiff had never made any disparaging remarks about Muslims or Islam."
Instead of helping Sébag, the school informed her that she would be required to attend a meeting with UNIS’s Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).
Complaints to HR are ignored
When Sébag learned that leadership had not disclosed to UNIS’s DEI Director her prior reports concerning Ms. Soliman’s alleged antisemitic and anti-French remarks, nor her earlier complaint to Human Resources regarding the same conduct, she submitted a formal written complaint to UNIS’s Human Resources Department on or about March 5, 2023. This was never responded to, and no investigation was opened.
Throughout the 2023–2024 academic year, Sébag was reportedly subjected to a prolonged, formalized investigatory process in which her own conduct was repeatedly scrutinized, while UNIS failed to initiate a good-faith inquiry into the discrimination she had reported against Soliman. That process further intensified the hostile environment she was forced to endure.
During this time, Soliman asserted, "without any factual support or explanation," that she felt discriminated against by Sébag, despite having confirmed in a formal setting that Sébag had made no comments regarding her religion or hijab.
The cumulative effect of these actions further isolated Sébag within the school community and contributed to the deterioration of her physical and emotional health.
Then, on or about May 14, 2024, Michal Urieli, a Jewish UNIS teacher of Israeli origin, emailed Dr. Brenner, reporting multiple incidents of antisemitic hostility she had experienced at the school. She stated that she had previously “kept quiet” but could no longer remain silent. Urieli described direct confrontations involving anti-Israel and antisemitic remarks, including vulgar references to the Holocaust and gas chambers.
No corrective measures were implemented in response to Urieli’s reports of antisemitic remarks.
During this same period, Urieli reported that Soliman engaged her in confrontational encounters in which she thrust her cellphone into Urieli’s face and compelled her to view seemingly AI-generated graphic images purporting to depict Israeli soldiers committing violence against children, while making derogatory anti-Israel remarks and demanding that Urieli respond on behalf of the State of Israel.
The conduct reportedly mirrored Soliman’s prior behavior toward Sébag.
In or around August 2024, Sébag's treating physician recommended extended medical leave due to her severe depression and related conditions, including anxiety, insomnia, elevated blood pressure, weight gain, gastrointestinal distress, and musculoskeletal pain.
UNIS granted Plaintiff six months of paid sick leave beginning on or about August 20, 2024. Prior to joining UNIS, she had no history of depression, anxiety, or other mental health disorders.
Upon the expiration of her paid leave, on or about February 28, 2025, Sébag informed UNIS that she was unable to return to work and tendered her resignation, having concluded that returning to the workplace posed a substantial risk of further harm.
Sébag has filed to the court on account of Hostile Work Environment Discrimination in Violation of the New York State Human Rights Law and New York City Human Rights Law; Retaliation in Violation of the NYSHRL and NYCHRL; Negligent Supervision or Retention; and Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress.
She seeks compensatory damages from UNIS, in an amount to be determined at trial, for all past and future monetary and economic losses, including but not limited to lost salary, lost benefits, and lost retirement income.
Additionally, Sébag is seeking compensatory damages for emotional distress and reputational harm; physical illness, pain and suffering; and punitive damages against UNIS in an amount sufficient to punish and deter the willful, reckless, and discriminatory conduct.