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Antisemitic Video Resurfaces In Summer School Civics Course

A video depicting Israel as ‘occupiers’, deleted from the eLearning Ontario Civics course material, makes another appearance in Ontario virtual classroom

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A screenshot of a video included in the curriculum for Grade 10 Civics in the York Region District School Board (Ontario) featuring a young boy accusing Zionists of occupying “Palestinian Land”

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A video used as part of teaching material in an online grade 10 Civics course through eLearning Ontario that slurred Israel, believed to have been completely removed by administrators after community complaints, has cropped up again in a second school division.

Lately, it was used in another summer school course. The incident was reported to TheJ.ca by a concerned, and furious, parent.

The teacher of this course assigned the viewing of the video as part of the regular online course, as seen in the teacher’s YouTube channel, where she offers a brief introduction to each lesson presented.

The video in question was originally brought to TheJ.ca’s attention in the last week of July, when a York Region District School Board (YRDSB) student, who was taking an online Civics course, came across a curriculum video of a boy, Naj, talking about “human rights abuses” of Israel. Amongst other statements in the three minute video, he claims that “the Israelis use violence and destructive tactics to continue their occupation.”

The video made many more unsubstantiated accusations, and no opposing perspective was offered in the course, to counter any of these claims. When notified, YRDSB ostensibly had the video eliminated from their portal, and the Ministry of Education had eLearning Ontario remove the video from the overall course.

This week, however, a student taking the Civics e-learning course through the Simcoe County District School Board came across the same video, as part of his required coursework.

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According to Gila Martow, MPP for Thornhill, the video was indeed removed, as stated. Martow said that the Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce, made it “very clear that this video was not appropriate for use in class, and that the link was removed.” Minister Lecce’s office has not returned messages for comment.

It is unclear as yet whether the Simcoe County teacher – despite the condemnation expressed by the Minister of Education – intentionally decided to use the video as part of the course. It is also unclear how this video, though removed from the York Region version of the course, remained in the Simcoe County version of the course.

Steve Blake, Director of Education for the Simcoe County District School Board, told TheJ.ca they “began (their) investigation immediately, and that the offensive content was taken down right away.”

He further made clear that their “board does not support the sharing of biased material in any way, shape or form … [and that] we will take appropriate steps in response to findings of our investigation.”

CIJA has been in communication with the Simcoe County School Board, and has been told that the Board is looking into the matter. B’nai Brith has also intervened, stating they had contacted Minister Lecce “to ensure that inappropriate propaganda is removed from Ontario classrooms once and for all.”

Corey Margolese is the founder of JTeach.ca, a not-for-profit organization that offers training and resources in the dangers of antisemitism, Holocaust education, and in Judaic traditions, culture and religion. He is a public school teacher.

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We thank you for your ongoing support.

Happy reading!

Thank you for choosing TheJ.Ca as your source for Canadian Jewish News.

We do news differently!

Our positioning as a Zionist News Media platform sets us apart from the rest. While other Canadian Jewish media are advocating increasingly biased progressive political and social agendas, TheJ.Ca is providing more and more readers with a welcome alternative and an ideological home.

We revealed the incursion of anti-Israel progressive elements such as IfNotNow into our communities. We have exposed the distorted hateful agenda of the “progressive” left political radicals who brought Linda Sarsour to our cities, and we were first to report on many disturbing incidents of Nazi-based hate towards Jews across Canada.

But we can’t do it alone. We need your HELP!

Our ability to thrive and grow in 2020 and beyond depends on the generosity of committed readers and supporters like you.

Monthly support is a great way to help us sustain our operations. We greatly appreciate any contributions you can make to support Jewish Journalism.

We thank you for your ongoing support.

Happy reading!

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