School finds N.J. teen's anti-Israel tweets were not bullying

Incident sparked social media uproar, rally in Fair Lawn

FAIR LAWN -- A Fair Lawn High School student's anti-Israel Twitter posts were not acts of harassment, intimidation or bullying under the state's anti-bullying law, according to the findings of a school investigation released Tuesday.

Bethany Koval, a 16-year-old Israeli Jew, has said she was called to the principal's office over her social media posts and investigated for possible violations of the state's tough anti-bullying law. The case prompted a social media firestorm, sparked a debate about free speech and led to a rally in support of school administrators.

School officials notified Koval's parents that the matter related to "peer conflict," but did not meet the standards of a bullying incident, according to the ACLU of New Jersey, which represented the teen.

Tweets send teen to principal's office

"i'm sooooo glad that pro-Israel girl from my school unfollowed me! I'm so FREE now like," Koval's post on Twitter said, the Washington Post previously reported. "[expletive] ISRAEL"

She also posted to a friend on Twitter in December that she would reveal the student's name in a private message. 

"I am grateful for this ruling that posting my political opinions online was not considered bullying and for the fact that my speech didn't deserve official censorship," Koval said in a statement released by the ACLU. "The manner in which the bullying law was used in my case was not in the spirit of free speech. It's unfortunate that such a noble law in principle was used to justify something as troubling as chilling students' speech."

ACLU-NJ Senior Staff Attorney Alexander Shalom said the case illustrated how the anti-bullying law "can be misused to stifle free expression, from its intent to meaningfully address harassing behavior."

N.J. bullying law used to bully anti-Israel teen | Editorial

"In some cases, the anti-bullying law is being read so broadly that perfectly constitutional free speech can easily be placed under a microscope, contrary to the spirit of the law," Shalom said in a statement. "Students shouldn't have to fear that their thoughts on politics, or anything else, could be taken out of context and have them branded as a bully, especially when the consequences can be so serious."

Though Koval received widespread support on Twitter, including through a top trending hashtag, some in Fair Lawn organized to support district officials.

At a rally in January supporters of the school said the issue was not about taking sides over Israel, but preventing bullying.

For their part, district officials have said they are required to investigate allegations of bullying under state law and did not seek to censor free speech.

New Jersey's anti-bullying laws, widely viewed as among the country's strictest, were passed in response to the suicide of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi. The law holds school officials responsible for not handling bullying incidents.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.