Gov. Maura Healey is no doubt hopeful when she claims that there is no room for antisemitism in Massachusetts.

But there appears to be plenty of room for such hate in the public school system.

That, at least, is the under-reported conclusion of the Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism for K-12 Education in Massachusetts.

Healey made her earlier comments in response to a pro-Palestinian heckler who accused Israel of genocide in Gaza. Healey was on GBH radio defending the launch of an Israel-based health care accelerator firm in Massachusetts.

In a story reported by the State House News Service, Healey said, “We can have agreements and disagreements about policy issues. But at the end of the day, you know, let’s remember that there is no place for antisemitism in Massachusetts.”

Shortly after Healey had completed her comments than the commission, in its preliminary working report, coincidentally found that antisemitism in the public school system — especially after the Oct 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel — is growing.

Antisemitism in the schools, the commission found, “is a pervasive and escalating problem, with a large number of reported incidents of hate, bullying, harassment experienced by families and teachers.”

“Many Jewish students in Massachusetts schools are scared to publicly display their Judaism or let other knows they are Jewish for fear of disparate treatment or bullying.”

It said, “Antisemitic hate crimes in Massachusetts are rising — by over 20 per cent in 2024 alone — at the same time overall violent crime is decreasing in Massachusetts.” And many of the antisemitic crimes are not reported out of fear of retaliation.

It said that the various form of antisemitism includes “swastika graffiti, Holocaust jokes or denial, harassment or discrimination based on perceived relationship to Israel or actual Israeli citizenship, and harassment directed towards Jewish individuals while using the term ‘Zionist’ as a replacement slur.”

So, while Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Healey can brag about how safe Boston and the state are, things are not so comfortable or safe for Jewish Americans in the public school system.

And there is no help in combating antisemitism from the Massachusetts Teachers Association, according to the report. The opposite is true.

In fact, the commission, which is headed by state Sen. John Velis of Westfield and Rep Simon Cataldo of Concord,    reported that the MTA contributed to the problem by exposing students “to content and curriculum that contains inaccurate, decontextualized and harmful material around Israel and the Jewish people.”

It said that “similar problematic content and resources have been endorsed or promoted through the Massachusetts Teachers Association.”

While the commission is to be lauded for exposing antisemitism in the public school system, its recommendations fall far short of solving it.

Rather than suspending or throwing antisemite students harassing Jewish students out of the school, or firing antisemitic teachers, the commission, sounding like Healey, recommended that “School officials should make strong, clear statements that antisemitism is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

Except when it is.

Still, as State House legislative commissions go, the Velis/Cataldo commission has done good work, considering it could have ended up like so many past commissions.

For instance, the legislative commission to replace the “discriminatory” Commonwealth’s state seal was established five years ago and has yet to come up with a design.

So, we’ll take what we can get.

Veteran political reporter Peter Lucas can be reached at: peter.lucas@bostonherald.com