A local father is speaking out after he says his 12-year-old son was the target of antisemitic bullying while he was a student in Westport Public Schools. 

Andrew Goldberg, 55, says what his son experienced at Coleytown Middle School earlier this year reflects a national rise in antisemitism that needs to be addressed at schools. 

"Students were saying things to our son like, 'We must exterminate the Jews; would you like to join my camp -- 'Camp Auschwitz?'' Goldberg said. 

The story has been getting national attention after it was the focus of an article Goldberg wrote for Newsweek. 

Goldberg says what began as simple bullying back in September grew to become antisemitism. 

"Another student shot a squirt gun at my son, and while he was shooting him, he said, 'Shoot the Jew!  Shoot the Jew!” Goldberg said, “It's very painful as a parent to watch your son go through this experience -- and it was very hard on him emotionally, too." 

Goldberg says it began last year when his son was a sixth grader at Coleytown Middle School and continued into seventh grade. 

"It's not something I would wish on any parent," he said. 

Goldberg says he and his wife met with school officials, who promised to put "a safety plan" into action, but he says the plan resulted in merely moving his son around from place to place without addressing the root cause. 

"I didn't want to make this about us, but with the antisemitism that's now erupting across the country, I felt I had no choice," said Goldberg. 

Goldberg says what made the whole situation worse was school officials offering "hush money" to silence him and his family.  

School officials claim the Newsweek article "grossly mischaracterized" their response. 

News12 obtained statements from the Westport Board of Education and the school’s superintendent.