Antisemitism is being ignored in school.
Antisemitism is the act of prejudice against people of the Jewish religion and ethnicity. The act of such prejudice happens every day and continues to be ignored.
Although I am not Jewish, I have had a discussion with a Jewish student at our school, sophomore Ella Ouwinga. Ouwinga transferred to the district last year. She has overheard students making anti-Semitic jokes during classes or in lunch periods.
“Being Jewish and seeing antisemitism in my own school really bothers me, because it is ridiculous,” Ouwinga said. “They act as if the Holocaust and my religion [is] nothing more than a big joke.”
According to an article by National Public Record (NPR), 39% of American Jewish people have decided to change the way they act, to experience less hate [online and in person]. Our school contributes to this percentage.
As I entered high school, I noticed a surge in antisemitic jokes and comments people make. I had a classmate in ninth grade that would consistently make antisemitic jokes. A common theme I saw in her “jokes” were related to Adolf Hitler and Nazis, and the jokes were in reference to how Hitler and Nazis were good people. Humor is subjective until you’re hurting a group for your own amusement.
Another recent occurrence that I’ve witnessed is this year, a group of students in one of my classes were minimizing the atrocities Jewish people went through during World War II. The historical misinformation was along the lines of how Adolf Hitler only had Jewish people do forced labor. I would like to assume that these students have not received enough information to fully understand what their jokes convey.
These situations have made me ask myself if students recognize what horrific events Jewish people were exposed to during the Holocaust between 1933 to 1945 and the hate Jewish people still experience to this day.
I have yet to see any repercussions towards students’ anti-semitic jokes, even though everybody knows that they’re occurring, especially when the jokes are said out loud in classrooms. I am tired of seeing antisemitism ignored in my day to day life and there should be more awareness and consequences around it.
I believe that if a teacher just tells these students to make a change in their behavior, it would be beneficial for everybody around. As a school, I believe we need to bring more awareness to this issue and start acknowledging what is truly happening. Once awareness is brought up, it will make a more inclusive environment for our school and will also create more acceptance outside of school walls.
