A Pennsylvania elementary school principal is facing termination after allegedly leaving a voicemail laced with antisemitic slurs for a Jewish parent.

Philip Leddy, principal of Lower Gwynedd Elementary School in Montgomery County, confirmed to the Wissahickon School District that he made the comments Friday morning, according to an email sent to parents by Superintendent Mwenyewe Dawan. The recording captured Leddy referring to “Jew camp,” claiming the parent had “Jew money,” asserting that Jews “control the banks,” and suggesting that the parent was likely a lawyer because “the odds are probably good,” according to the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.

The voicemail was left after Leddy had called the parent regarding an incident involving the parent’s daughter. Believing he had disconnected the call, Leddy continued speaking to another staff member, unaware the line was still open.

“I couldn’t believe it,” the parent, who requested anonymity, told Action News 6ABC. “I was hearing Jew this, Jew that, and I was thinking, ‘This can’t be the principal leaving a voicemail.’”

The school’s administration is recommending Leddy’s immediate termination, pending an “informal private hearing” scheduled for Monday morning. Leddy has been placed on administrative leave, as has another staff member who was heard on the call, pending the outcome of an investigation.

“The fact that any employees entrusted with the care and well-being of students could make, or passively tolerate, such remarks raises concerns that extend beyond the conduct of a single individual,” Superintendent Dawan wrote. “This incident underscores concerns for broader, systemic issues related to antisemitism that must be examined and addressed.”

Leddy was hired as principal in 2023 and had previously served as chair of the district’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, according to a now-deleted profile on the school’s website.

“What is most concerning is not only the language itself, but the mindset it reflects,” the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia said in a statement. “The comments rely on well-known antisemitic stereotypes that reduce a parent to caricature and signal hostility rather than respect. For a family entrusting their child to a school community, hearing this kind of language—particularly from a principal—is profoundly unsettling.”

The episode comes amid heightened scrutiny of antisemitism in Pennsylvania schools. Just last month, the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee launched an investigation into the School District of Philadelphia over allegations of a hostile environment for Jewish K–12 students. According to the Anti-Defamation League, Pennsylvania recorded 465 antisemitic incidents in 2024, an 18 percent increase from the year before.

Dawan said the district has already partnered with the ADL to provide antisemitism and bias-response training to administrators and that those sessions will now be expanded to all staff.

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