Monday, July 8, 2019

Florida School Promoting Holocaust Denial

According to a new report, a Florida high school principal defended Holocaust deniers when he was asked by a parent how his school teaches about the World War II atrocity and wrote that “not everyone believes the Holocaust happened.”

Holocaust denial is considered to be a form of anti-Semitism.  Holocaust deniers are generally believed to be motivated by hatred of Jews and typically claim that the Holocaust was invented or exaggerated by Jews as part of a plot to advance Jewish interests,

The surprising response was revealed in emails between the parent and principal at Boca Raton’s Spanish River Community High School sent in April of 2018,

The parent, who did not want her name published, told local reporters that she had reached out to Principal William Latson about how his school prioritizes that part of world history. The mother mentioned a 1994 Florida mandate that requires Holocaust education in public schools.

Latson replied by saying that the school offers a one-day lesson to 10th graders but he said it’s not mandatory as some parents “don’t want their children to participate.”

“The Holocaust is a factual, historical event,” the mother responded. “It is not a right or a belief.”

Latson, however, protested, saying “Not everyone believes the Holocaust happened and you have your thoughts but we are a public school and not all of our parents have the same beliefs so they will react differently.  I can’t say the Holocaust is a factual, historical event because I am not in a position to do so as a school district employee.”

He added that the school presents information about the Holocaust to the students and allows them to make their own decisions about it. He said it does the same when it comes to slavery.

Latson, in a statement to the Post, apologized, saying the views he expressed in his emails “did not accurately reflect my professional and personal commitment to educating all students about the atrocities of the Holocaust.”  Latson was reportedly not disciplined over his conduct.

No comments: