Apologies were in order and received in Clarkstown, New York after a video depicting Jewish people in a negative light was shown to school students. The video, deemed appropriate for curriculum by the school district, has been pulled from availability, and the Clarkstown superintendent J. Thomas Morton has issued an official apology.
(Photo: Mark Vergari/The Journal News)
The video in question deals with the roles of Jews and Christians in the Roman Empire and how these two religious groups were seen by Romans during that time. While the general subject matter is appropriate for the classroom, the ways that these two religious groups are portrayed in the video is not. Jewish people are depicted as troublemakers, being highly aggressive warriors. Simultaneously, they are also shown as refusing to be a part of Roman society in terms of the languages they spoke and their general attitude.
Christians, on the other hand, are shown as peaceful and cooperative, and as the victims of the Roman Empire. This historically inaccurately negative and prejudicial representation of the Jewish people has offended many students, parents, and activist groups as it calls into question who approved this video for circulation in the school curriculum and why.
Since the controversy, Superintendent J. Thomas Morton and the teacher who played the video have met with the Rockland Jewish Federation leaders to ensure that such antisemitic portrayals and representations are never used in the classroom again.
Here is Morton’s letter of apology, excerpted below.
The video depicted Judaism in a demeaning and historically inaccurate way. The principal and the teacher have worked with the students and their families to underscore that the use of this video was a mistake and to address any concerns they may have regarding this experience. My administrative team reached out to the company that created the video to express our
concerns. After reflection, the company recognized the issues with the presentation and removed it from use. In addition, the principal, teacher and my administrative team met with
community leaders including the Jewish Federation of Rockland County and the Holocaust Museum for Tolerance and Education, who have offered their support to our students and the
school in making this a positive learning experience. The focus of our conversation was on both the individual needs of students who were in the class, as well as the broader issue of social
tolerance in society.
