I'm guessing that teachers were concerned that, in teaching material about the holocaust, some students would bring up the current war and whether the Israeli actions constitute genocide or not. Understandably that would put teachers in a very difficult position. |
Highlighting this. Freedom of speech - until you cross the line. |
This is disturbing. How did we get here? |
I just took the time to watch the video that the students want to show. You can watch it yourself here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jKRwdsq-As It is only 49 minutes long. Let me clear up some misconceptions. The movie is not anti-Semitic, let along "very" anti-Semitic. Does it portray the Israeli government's point of view? Of course not. Many supporters of Israel will object to parts of its content. I suspect that even some supporters of the Palestinians will quibble about parts. That's the nature of the conflict. But it is a very solid and accurate discussion of Israel's occupation and the ways in which US public opinion has been influenced. Roger Waters has clearly overstepped the bounds of what I personally consider appropriate and can legitimately be accused of antisemitism. However, he has very little to do with this film. Most of the movie is not, in fact, narrated. Rather various speakers talk for themselves. There is no mention of the "Jewish lobby" as stated earlier in this thread. The harshest critic of the pro-Israel lobby is a former AIPAC staffer. The movie accurately points out that most American Jews don't support Israel's hardline policies and that many of Israel's US supporters are not Jewish. One speaker explicitly said that Israel has not brainwashed Americans. While pro-Israel political influence and the impact of pro-Israel financial contributions are described, the point is made that none of the pro-Israel political activities are unusual. This actually rejects common anti-Semitic tropes about cabals of Jews secretly controlling Americans. Ironically, toward the end of the video there is a discussion about the need to confront student activists who are not as supportive of Israel as are older Americans. In fact, many of the tactics that Israel's supporters are accused by the film of using are actually demonstrated in this thread. Anyone interested in this discussion should take the time to watch the video and come to their own conclusions. For my part, I see no reason to prevent this film from being presented at school. |
How did the adapted lessons go, does anyone know? I hope teachers were prepared to discuss the Holocaust and how it is or isn't similar to the current war; otherwise, I don't really see any reason to have delayed this unit. |
Thank you for the detailed review. |
Yes, it does. There are links at the bottom of the page that link directly to the materials in question. |
The kids are alright! I support the lawsuit. |
The current context to the Holocaust in the 40s? No. The context has not changed. That is ridiculous. Current events can be taught through a lense that reflects the past but the past cannot be changed based on current events and politics. |
Come on. You can’t be this dumb. It’s tough to talk about the implications of Holocaust literature—written in large part to document the horror and ensure it never happened again—without talking about what’s going on right now. Students have questions and thoughts, and teachers wanted to make sure they could facilitate conversations sensitively and productively. |
There’s an 84 minute “uncut” version as well with much more controversial material…not sure which one the students were planning to show. |
It feels like the "context" is getting closer and closer to denying the Holocaust. It's pretty disturbing. |
Interesting article here…. https://www.thenation.com/article/world/occupation-of-the-american-mind-documentary/ As a Jewish parent, I would be 100 percent fine with this film being shown by the student group. Having said that, I defend the school’s position of making sure that student groups follow rules and that the school gets a chance to consider how materials might disrupt or interfere with the school environment. Just like they did with the holocaust material, it seems legit for the principal to not grant permission to show this on school grounds until there has been some dialogue around its sensitivities. |
Jeff left a LOT out - namely the complete denial that Hamas is anti-semitic. |
They planned to show the short version, which is the version to which I linked. That was included in the ACLU press release. |