Back in 2022 WTCV – the local ABC affiliate in Chattanooga, Tennessee – reported that there has been in a case of ‘anti-Semitism’ in… well… during a class on the bible.
According to Sam Pena:
‘“If you want to torture a Jew, get them to say this name."
One Chattanooga mother says those disturbing words were spoken by an East Hamilton Middle school teacher during a literature class on the Bible.
She says the teacher wrote an English transliteration of the Hebrew name of God. In Jewish culture, the name is traditionally not spoken out loud.
Juniper Russo's mother was shocked to hear that statement after her eighth-grade daughter told her she felt unsafe in the classroom.
"I thought 'If it really was a Bible history class, it wouldn’t be an issue for her or a conflict with our religious beliefs,'" Russo said. "It seemed very aggressive and very abrasive."
Russo's family is Reformed Jewish and they are members of the Mizpah Congregation in Chattanooga.
Russo enrolled her daughter in the class since the other electives at East Hamilton were not accessible due to a physical disability and recent medical surgery.
"She didn't feel safe in the Bible class anymore," Russo said. "She's thinking 'I don't want to out myself as the Jewish kid and be treated differently because of it.'"
The class is taught in 29 Hamilton County public schools and is funded by the non-profit organization, "The Bible in the Schools." On their website, they say their classes are, "required to teach from a viewpoint-neutral perspective and adhere to a court-approved curriculum."
WTVC reached out to the Hamilton County School District. They said they are aware of the issue and provided this statement:
"Hamilton County Schools is committed to ensuring that our students and staff experience a climate of belonging and support. This week, HCS received a parent complaint concerning classroom activities involving the Bible History elective course at East Hamilton Middle School. In accordance with School Board policy, the district is investigating the complaint. When completed, HCS will take appropriate steps based on the findings of that review."
Russo said she initially asked to meet with the teacher to discuss her statements, but she refused to meet with her, citing school policy.
In the wake of controversies such as the recent McMinn County "Maus" ban, Russo is concerned about growing antisemitism.
"I think it’s discriminatory and unconstitutional and violates the principles of separation of church and state,” Russo said.
Russo sent the school principal a list of her grievances with the class and she is encouraged so far by their response.’ (1)
Now how this passed muster in terms of an ‘anti-Semitism’ complaint I couldn’t rightly tell you because going by the narrative the actual problem is that Russo put her daughter in an elective Bible study class in a devoutly Christian part of the world and then proceeded to get upset and screech about ‘anti-Semitism’ when they referred to ‘Yahweh’/’YHWH’ rather than ‘Hashem’.
The key passage that tells you what this is all about is Russo’s statement:
‘I think it’s discriminatory and unconstitutional and violates the principles of separation of church and state.’
In other words: this was never about a very minor doctrinal difference when a jew – and she is a Reform mind you and Reform don’t really have a major issue with using ‘Yahweh’/’YHWH’ as opposed to say the Orthodox who would have an issue with it – goes into a Christian school and hears the ‘name of God’ said the ‘wrong way’ (according to Judaism).
Instead what this is fundamentally about is kicking religious education – outside of the weird universalist ‘all religions are equal’ nonsense that dominates the British school system I grew up in – out of schools and pushing jewish principals instead, because – as it is implied by Russo and even a bunch of evangelical pastors in the original article – one jew’s feeling matter far more than the education of thousands of non-jews.
As to the central claim that the teacher allegedly said ‘If you want to torture a Jew, get them to say this name’ this was found to be unproven – read untrue – a few days after the news of this claim was splashed across the world and the teacher concerned was subjected to an avalanche of hatred from jews and their myrmidons about something it turns out they never actually did. (2)
Indeed, I’d say she was lucky she had decent school administrators because many would have just fired her, apologised and been done with it and not bothered even getting her side of the story!
All because a jewess and her daughter lied.
Think about that.
References
(1) https://thenationaldesk.com/news/americas-news-now/mom-raises-concerns-over-alleged-anti-semitism-at-tennessee-bible-class-literature-jewish-chattanooga-teacher
(2) https://www.chattanoogan.com/2022/2/11/443309/County-School-Probe-Finds-Students-In.aspx