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"The school is the one being bullied here," said Ronen Magid, a Fair Lawn parent of three whose wife organized the rally in front of the high school. "They are being intimidated by outside groups to look away because of the personal opinions of the bully."
Magid and Adi Vaxman said they hope the gathering shows district officials that they have support in investigating whether Bethany Koval, 16, singled out a pro-Israel classmate for retribution by a sympathizer.
Koval secretly recorded a conversation with an administrator who she said used the bullying charge as a guise to mask a political agenda.
Some at the rally said Koval is the one who's disingenuous by trying to turn the controversy into a First Amendment issue.
"I think she is trying to blow this out of proportion and seize the spotlight," said Jeffrey Suchoff, who also children in the Fair Lawn system.
A 16-year old junior and classmate of Koval's agreed.
"Everyone in the school knows the office called her down for her bullying and it had nothing to do with her comments against the Israeli government," he told Daily Voice. "But she made it sound in the videos like that was what it was all about."
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