What started as competitive jeering at a high school basketball game between Newton North and Catholic Memorial high schools on Friday quickly escalated into anti-Semitic hate speech — an incident that now has the attention of the Anti-Defamation League of Boston.

A group of students from Newton North, with a heavily Jewish student body, began chanting “Where are your girls?” to members of the all-boys Catholic Memorial. Several dozen students from Catholic Memorial chanted “You killed Jesus!” in return.

“Let’s be honest, there are inappropriate things at sporting events that happen,” said Newton schools Superintendent David Fleishman. “But this was way over the line.”

Fleishman, who arrived about 20 minutes after the incident, said several parents and students, both Jewish and not, expressed concern over the exchange.

“We have Jewish players on the team, and even if they’re not, this is highly offensive,” Fleishman said. “It’s so deeply rooted.”

He said he also considered the taunts from Newton North students to be inappropriate and the insults on each side will be discussed tomorrow.

Catholic Memorial President Peter F. Folan issued a statement saying that the school community is “deeply disturbed” by the incident.

“We have been the subject of hurtful chants as well,” Folan said, “and we will work diligently within our own community and with other schools to end this abhorrent behavior.”

The Archdiocese of Boston, in a statement, also called the students’ behavior “unacceptable.”

Robert Trestan, director of the Boston ADL, said a Newton police officer who was at the game called to report Catholic Memorial students’ behavior.

Ultimately, Trestan said, apologies were made and the principals from each school shook hands, but “Monday is when the real teaching begins.”

“The comments that were made are really appalling,” Trestan said. “Hate speech and taunting doesn’t have a role in the stands of any game.”