One Brave 12-Year-Old Called Out His Teacher
The Simon Wiesenthal has urged the San Dieguito Union High School District to take proactive action against Carmel ValleyMiddle School where Adolf Hitler's portrait was placed alongside inspirational historical leaders including US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, US presidentJohn F Kennedy, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. When a Jewish student complained the teacher responded “Hitler may have done somebad things, but he also had strong leadership qualities.” The Principal’s initial action was to excuse the boy, who is Jewish, from the class. The Principal has since apologized.
In a letter to the heads of San Dieguito Union High School District, Superintendent’s Office and Carmel Valley Middle School, SWCAssociate Dean and Director of Global Social Action Agenda, Rabbi Abraham Cooper said that “we need to understand that Hitler was not just another “leader “and “Nazism” was not justanother political movement. If you want to compare Hitler’s “leadership qualities” present him next to photographs of Stalin, Mao and the Ayatollah Khamenei, not icons of liberty and humandecency.”
Cooper, urged that all history teachers in the district and their students spend a day at the SWC’s renowned Museum of Toleranceadding that “such hate almost destroyed civilization and bigotry is alive and well in today’s America in many forms… Please let’s make sure our teachers receive the proper training andour children receive an education that infuses them with basic ethical values.”
To view full letter click here
For further information, please email Michele Alkin, Director of Global Communications at malkin@wiesenthal.com or Shawn Rodgers atsrodgers@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization numbering over 400.000 members. Itholds consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS, and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO).
