jews in the d
BLOOMFIELD HILLS SCHOOLS
Hate Speech
Bloomfi eld Hills High School
looks at restorative methods
to heal its culture.
Bloomfield Hills
High School
STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
S
ince the start of the school year, the
taunts about being Jewish among
ninth-graders in Bloomfield Hills
High School occur at such a frequent
basis that no one thought to report them.
This is how one Jewish student, who
spoke to the Jewish News on condition of
anonymity, sees it.
At least once a week, the ninth-grad-
er said she and other Jewish peers are
subjected to taunts allegedly made by a
group of “popular” ninth-graders, such
as “Hey, you are my second favorite Jew,”
“Jews are stupid” or “I hate Jewish peo-
ple.” The taunts are made just beyond
earshot of a teacher or school staff per-
son.
“They say things like this to me
and other Jewish kids in class, and it’s
happened so much we have become
desensitized to it,” the student said. “No
one does or says anything, and [the kids
saying the hate speech against Jews]
don’t care because there have been no
consequences. Other Jewish kids and I
do not feel comfortable because of the
things they are saying, but, after we hear
them say it, it’s just like … whatever. We
just try to stay away from them.”
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December 13 • 2018
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The student added she is aware that
a group of ninth-graders who recently
attended a house party composed a rap
that included anti-Jewish slurs target-
ing one Jewish student, recorded it as a
video on a cell phone and distributed it
on Snapchat. She herself did not see the
video.
The student’s mother said she believes
the students should be suspended
from school and both they and their
parents should go through educational
sensitivity training, including a trip to
the Holocaust Memorial Museum in
Farmington Hills.
“These students are targeting the
Jewish kids, and no one wants to con-
front them,” she said.
News of this video
prompted BHHS
Principal Charlie
Hollerith last week to
release a district-wide
email to notify families in
the district that the matter
Charlie
happened and is being
Hollerith
investigated as hate
speech.
In the email, Hollerith stated:
“If you, or anyone you know, needs to
talk to someone, please do not hesitate to
connect with us. We have highly trained
social and emotional support staff who
can assist with questions or concerns
you may have. Hate speech has a great
impact on us all, even if it was not per-
sonally directed our way.”
In other incidents, other sources,
including an involved parent who wants
to remain anonymous, said this school
year they had been shown by school staff
several incidents of offending content
that included a photo of a Jewish girl
with an anti-Jewish slur — “Repping the
Rich Jews” — captioned on her forehead.
Through a school staff member, the
parent was shown a violent video clip
from a movie depicting a person’s head
being repeatedly smashed on a concrete
curb by a heavy boot. Under the video
clip ran a caption: “I wish I could do this
to all the Jews.”
Bloomfield Hills Schools Director
of Communications Shira Good said
though she could not confirm the details
of the offensive materials because the
matter is under investigation and the
students are minors, she did say the
school administration is grateful for the
outpouring of support and resources
already provided by Anti-Defamation
League officials as well as area rabbis
who have all met with Hollerith in recent
weeks and days.
Good said the district brought the
matter to the attention of the school
police liaison, though Bloomfield
Township Police officials said they are
not actively conducting a formal investi-
gation. Good added that administrators
are following the district’s code of con-
duct rulings to determine what actions
will be taken.
She said any time students feel they
have been victims of bullying or hate
speech, they can and should turn to any
staff at school they have a trusted rela-
tionship with, to the principal or a hall
monitor, who have all be trained in how
to listen to the student and guide them
to get the help and support they need.
“I hear all the time that people didn’t
report a ‘first’ incident because they
didn’t think it was a big
deal; they thought it
would not matter or that
nothing would happen to
change things,” said ADL
Michigan Director
Carolyn Normandin, “I
Carolyn
want people to know it’s
Normandin
really important to stand
up against hate and to report incidents
anytime they occur. At the ADL, we
track incidents and by doing that — by
collecting information and by notifying
the right people — we can help address
an issue and, hopefully, effect change.
“It’s crucial to speak out because his-
tory teaches us when acts of bias are left
unchecked, the result can lead to more
acts of prejudice and discrimination, and
even bias-motivated violence.”
Board of Education
member-elect Lisa Efros
said she is confident the
school district is taking
the acts of hate speech
against Jewish students
very seriously and is
Lisa Efros
working hard to find the
best way to help students
and the community deal with anti-Semi-
tism and all types of discrimination.
continued on page 20