US private schools group apologizes after criticism of antisemitic remarks during conference | National & World [Video]

(CNN) — A national private school group has apologized for comments made by speakers at a recent diversity and inclusion conference that were criticized by several Jewish organizations as antisemitic and perpetuating an anti-Israel bias.

The conference, known as the People of Color Conference, was held earlier this month in Denver by the National Association of Independent Schools, a group of around 1,700 private schools across the United States, including some of the nation’s most prestigious schools. The gathering aimed to promote the organization’s commitment to equity and inclusion in teaching, according to its website.

The leaders of four national Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, condemned the speakers in an open letter, calling their remarks “extreme, biased anti-Zionist and anti-Israel rhetoric” and accusing them of creating a “hostile” environment for Jewish students and faculty in attendance.

The letter, which was directed to the association’s president, said the conference’s speakers labeled “the …