Blatant Anti-Semitism at Canadian School

(Ottawa, Canada) Two teachers have been suspended at the Abraar Islamic School (K-8) for actions glorifying martyrdom and violence against Jews. One teacher praised an anti-semitic essay written by a student while another teacher helped with artwork displaying hate-filled and violent images. The incident has prompted complaints from the Canadian Jewish Congress and B'nai Brith Canada and an expression of shocked disgust from Mumtaz Akhtar, the local Muslim-Community Council President.

At issue is a student essay which told of avenging the death of a Hamas terrorist by ambushing and killing Israeli soldiers.

"Without thinking, Ahmed took his M-16 machine gun and threw the bombs and he showered the Jews, this resulted in the killing of the soldiers," the student wrote in one passage.

A teacher wrote on the title page "God bless you, your efforts are good," adding that Ahmed's story "is still alive and the end will be soon when God unites us in Jerusalem." A second helped with the artwork.

In addition to suspension of the two teachers, an investigation has been launched to determine the scope of anti-Jewish teaching in the school. The Ontario Education Department under Minister Gerard Kennedy wants to determine the extent of the problem and is researching the requirements for decertification of teachers and private schools.

Interestingly, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a statement saying "Canadian Muslims reject the glorification of violence or the promotion of hatred against any ethnic community." At the same time, however, Riad Saloojee, the Director of CAIR, justified the essay by stating that it was written by a boy whose family lives "under the jackboot of Israeli occupation." Maybe it's just me, but when a leader of an organization inserts the word 'jackboot' in a sentence, somehow all images of harmony and tolerance evaporate.

The incident at Abraar school has kindled heat between the Islamic and Jewish communities and it may increase. The head of the Canadian Islamic Congress, Mohamed Elmasry, has accused Jewish schools of fostering hatred and believe that they should be investigated. Elmasry is concerned that Jewish Canadians are being taught that "Israel does not want to fight and the Palestinians wanted to push the Israelis into the sea." On the other side, Israeli Ambassador Alan Baker is disturbed that Muslim leaders are turning the issue into a tug-of-war when there is "blatant evidence of what's being taught in an Islamic school."

It's no secret that private schools and teachers in Canada are lightly regulated, so the investigation of the area should be enlightening and is probably long overdue. I personally believe that this incident is only a hint of a much larger problem. Whether the Islamic school is in Canada, the U.S., or anywhere else, I don't think it can be trusted to present a curriculum that is entirely devoid of hatred toward Jews.