ANTISEMITISM – NYHS AND THE NEW YORK TIMES – ON THE SAME PAGE

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“Jew Hatred”

“Prejudice against an individual or a group because they are Jewish”

These are two ideas of antisemitism that seniors at the Northwest Yeshiva High School shared today in class.   After reading My Soul is Filled with Joy: A Holocaust Story, the students requested a discussion about antisemitism today.

So Robin, the classroom teacher and I,  prepared a lesson on this difficult topic.  Robin led an excellent discussion based, in part, on Professor Deborah Lipstadt’s chapter defining antisemitism in her new book: ANTISEMITISM HERE AND NOW.   The students discussed and listened to ideas presented in the article as they chose pieces of the chapter to highlight and share.

But sometimes the stars align with what you planned and what the world brings to you.   Today was one of those days.

We awoke to a front page article in the New York Times on antisemitism today.   Patrick Kingsley wrote a lengthy and interesting piece titled, Extremes of Right and Left Share Ancient Bias.  I agree with most, but not all, of the statements and conclusions in the article, but was so excited to share the article with the students and show the relevance of our classroom conversation.

We must not turn away from the antisemitism that we see in the world today – thank you NYT – perfect timing.