Putting Holocaust Education to the Test

from Neapolitan Family March 2023

OUT & ABOUT in March

By Andrea Stetson

How antisemitic acts against children and adults in our community are on the rise, despite state-mandated Holocaust history curriculum in our schools

Bailey Reum is brave now. She’s learned to be confident when she faces adversity. But it wasn’t always that way for the Collier County high school senior. And it’s not that way for many other Jewish children and teenagers facing an increasing wave of antisemitism.

“In sixth grade I was walking to my world history class and a group of boys would yell ‘Heil Hitler!’ and throw up their arms,” Bailey described. “In eighth grade a couple of boys would throw coins at me. I would try to ignore it. If I picked up the coins they would say, ‘Of course the Jew is picking up a penny’.”

These types of incidents are becoming more common in Southwest Florida, the state, and the nation because it is being viewed as more acceptable.

“It’s the political climate in the world that’s changed. We see it everywhere,” said Susan Suarez, president and CEO of the Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center in Naples.

“The key as parents and educators is that we need to tell kids not to become numb to [antisemitism] just because they see it a lot,” Suarez advised. “It is still not acceptable; we still need to stand up against it. It gets worse and worse and worse if we let hatred go unchecked.”

Silence in the face of evil

Antisemitism impacts millions of Jews in the U.S. and around the globe. The Anti-Defamation League in New York has been tracking the increase in incidents against the Jewish population. Its 2021 report showed an all-time high of 2,717 occurrences in the United States for the year, an average of more than seven incidents of assault, harassment, and vandalism each day – a 34% increase from previous years.

Some of the surge can be attributed to the influence of public figures such as rapper Kanye West, now known as Ye, who has posted antisemitic comments and criticism about Black Lives Matter on his social media accounts, leading many of his followers to embrace antisemitism and other prejudices.

Rabbi Adam Miller of Temple Shalom in Naples is very concerned about the uptick in antisemitic incidents.

“Unfortunately we are seeing and hearing of this happening more and more,” Miller said. “This is something occurring not just here in Southwest Florida, but around the country. There is the rapid rise in antisemitism. There was a 50% rise in the last year. That is a scary number, and we are only seeing that go up. Nationally, unfortunately, more and more people are finding their voice and speaking hate. When groups of hate start speaking out, they start identifying minority groups and it often starts with Jews.”

The rabbi spoke about a recent incidence where antisemitic flyers were left on people’s front lawns. He also recently met with parents of local children who were experiencing this hatred.

“In our schools it is even more disheartening. Kids are having pennies thrown at them, swastikas drawn on their books and arms, and students are being told by their peers that they [still] like Kanye. It makes Jewish students feel so uncomfortable in their own skin. We had an incident last year with the meme of a student’s face put over a person in a concentration camp with the caption ‘my first day of camp wish me luck’. These are heartbreaking incidents and this is scary. And the lack of response has been really painful. It is silence in the face of evil.”

Another local girl spoke about how someone drew a swastika on her arm with a Sharpie, how kids gave her the Nazi salute, and how friends would tag her in stories supporting Kanye. Someone sang the Nazi anthem to her and another friend brought her a Hitler game, thinking it would be funny.

Miller pointed out that the statistics showing increases in incidents don’t tell the complete story because so many cases of antisemitism are unreported.

“We are aware that not a lot is being reported,” he noted. “In this world where students’ reputations can so quickly go up and down, we know that not all students are comfortable reporting these things. We are trying to educate our kids to speak out, but that is not going to change until they see their peers speaking out with them. It is very hard to be the lone voice.”

The reluctance of students to report these incidences is a major challenge for schools, according to Steve McFadden, Collier County Public Schools coordinator of school counseling for K-8. “We need to establish a culture of kindness so there are no bystanders,” he said. “So many times students stand on the sides or even take out their cell phones. They should go report it and tell a teacher.”

Even the victims of antisemitism are reluctant to tell an adult about the harassment. It wasn’t until her first year of high school, after four years of incidents, that Bailey finally told her mother.

“A boy messaged me about putting Christian baby blood in my matzo, and there were constant Holocaust jokes. It got to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore,” Bailey recalled. “I called my mom from class, and she was so upset. We went to the principal’s office, and the issue was resolved, and it hasn’t been a problem since. But I was ostracized because some kids got in trouble.”

Bailey said that it is hard for students to stand up for themselves or for someone around them who is being harassed.

“There is that desire to fit in, especially when there are not a lot of other Jews at your school,” Bailey explained. “It’s not cool to tell on other kids. There is not a social setting where you feel cool advocating for yourself.”

Bailey has advice for students on the receiving end of harmful comments.

“Definitely tell your parents,” she stressed. “I didn’t tell my mom until it was too much for me, and that was after going through it for about four years. It can be hard to have the confidence to tell someone to stop, but you should. If you are worried about fitting in or having friends, it is important continued on next page

What Does the Florida Department of Education Require?

Since 1994, Florida public schools have been required to teach the history of the Holocaust. The requirement was revised in 2020, and Holocaust education must now include instruction concerning antisemitism. School districts are required to report on Holocaust education instruction each year, and the Florida Department of Education must provide Holocaust education standards and a curriculum. In addition, the second week in November is now recognized as Holocaust Education Week in Florida.

Under Florida law, “the Holocaust is to be taught as a uniquely important event in modern history, emphasizing the systematic and statesponsored annihilation of European Jews, which distinguishes it from other genocides. Holocaust instruction should include the policy, definition and historical and current examples of antisemitism, and the prevention of antisemitism.” continued from previous page to take a step back and realize these are not the people you want to be friends with. Kids are worried about snitching, but if someone is causing you harm it is not snitching when you are telling someone to stop.”

The resources provided to educators can be found at www.fldoe.org/holocausteducation. Some of the state recommended books are listed on facing page.

Modern threats

The popularity of social media also is bolstering this spread of hate. “Unfortunately the internet is a large culprit,” Miller stressed. “People can post anonymously. They do this without repercussions. Political leaders with messages of hate have emboldened those people. Doing those things only makes other people think it is ok to do those things.”

Many of the victims spoke about being targeted online, by derogatory memes and photos sent by classmates, or being tagged in comments on antisemitic posts by famous people.

Even if these comments are made outside of a school setting, the harasser can face consequences at their school, according to Rachel Dawes, Ph.D., CCPS director of student relations.

“Cyberbullying counts if it impacts a school day,” Dawes said. “If kids are cyberbullying and then are sitting in class the next day, it is hard to say it did not impact the school day.”

Bailey has adjusted her social media settings because of harassment. “A lot of apps have filters which I use to stop people from making mean comments,” she said. She also made her social media accounts private so only her chosen friends can see her posts and post things to her.

What is being done

The American Jewish Committee says that blaming Jews has deep roots, and conspiracy theories abound during the world’s worst tragedies. Jews were falsely accused of poisoning wells in the 14th century in Europe causing the Black Death, for being capitalists behind communist revolutions, for being a hidden hand in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and for secretly plotting to take over the world. Some even call the Holocaust a hoax created by Jews to gain sympathy. The recent pandemic and slumping economy has once again prompted perpetrators to put blame on Jews.

In a world where some public figures are leading people down a path of hate, there are those trying to steer others to a path of compassion. The Holocaust Museum in Naples is working to use education to curtail antisemitic incidents. The museum brings guest speakers into many Collier County and some Lee County fifth grade classes, invites every eighth grade class for a free visit to the museum (and funds bus transportation), and will bring an authentic Holocaust-era boxcar or a pop-up display to middle and high schools.

“Students are learning about propaganda and how racism can spread, what prejudice and racism are, and what the Holocaust is,” Suarez explained. “But the museum personalizes it. What does that mean to students when you say 6 million Jews died? But you when say this is happened to this family, they can understand it better.”

At the museum students can view more than 1,000 original photographs and artifacts related to the Holocaust and World War II. They are displayed in chronological order from the rise of the Nazis to liberation to the Nuremberg trials. Exhibits around the modern museum include photos of concentration camps, written memories of survivors, prisoner uniforms, and other artifacts. The museum’s programs reach more than 15,000 students each year.

“With bullying and harassment who will you be, a bystander or an upstander?” Suarez asks them. “If you see someone throwing pennies at school will you laugh along or say, ‘Hey, that is not right’?”

Suarez hopes this education will not only dissuade bullies from their actions, but will turn bystanders into people who will stand up for the victims.

Bailey personally is involved in this education effort by working as a volunteer at the Holocaust Museum.

CCPS focuses on kindness to battle bullying that is manifested as antisemitic acts. Florida also has a statemandated curriculum that students must learn about the Holocaust Additional information about what Florida requires is detailed in the box on this page.

“The absolute number one bullying prevention is a culture of kindness,” said McFadden. “If you can build a real kind culture, you should see little bullying in school. We do have [bullying], but it will be less prevalent and destructive. So we do a lot of that education. When it comes to bullying, we don’t have a cookie-cutter guidance program. When bullying is occurring in classrooms or throughout the building, we do lessons on it.”

McFadden said students also are taught the difference between bullying and mean or rude behavior. He said rude is being inconsiderate, but not on purpose, while mean is hurtful and on purpose, but not repeated, and bullying is intentional, repetitive, and leaves the victim feeling powerless.

“We try to differentiate so the kids truly know when it is bullying,” McFadden said. “We have made some growth. We are coming along, but we have a long way to go.”

Even with all the programs, incidents keep occurring, and local schools have programs in place to deal with that. Dawes says consequences for perpetrators can be a minimum of a one-day suspension in elementary school to a minimum of two days at the secondary level. But it can also become a teaching opportunity.

“It is teaching and re-teaching students the expectations by living, breathing, and speaking that language” of kindness, Dawes said.

One of the area’s growing success stories comes from ROCK (Roots of Compassion and Kindness), a program started in 2020 at Florida Gulf Coast University.

“Our goal is to teach compassion, kindness, and empathy throughout the region,” said Maria Roca, the program’s director. FGCU students are taught these traits, and they in turn go into schools in Collier, Lee, and Charlotte counties to spread the word in grades one through five.

“Our focus is very nonpolitical,” Roca stressed. “We focus on how we need to be compassionate toward each other no matter what, and let other people know that we care about them and respect them.”

The group now partners with five schools, bringing hands-on lessons to the classrooms. ROCK helped Lee County libraries start kindness clubs, and holds a kindness festival on campus each year.

Is education enough?

Those experiencing and hearing about antisemitic incidents say more still needs to be done. Miller said a field trip and some lessons are not adequate. Students lost two years of visiting the Holocaust Museum during the pandemic. And he said that state mandates to teach about the Holocaust in school aren’t enough.

“A visit to the museum can be very powerful, but if the teacher does not prepare them for it and if there is no followup, they missed the opportunity to drive home the message from there,” he explained. “I am glad our students participate in that, and I wish more could. While Holocaust education is mandated by the state, there are no rules of what” exactly that entails.