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| Jewish student visits Auschwitz |
An Italian teacher is under fire after telling a Jewish student: “had you been in Auschwitz you would have been more careful,” according to press reports in Italy.
The mathematics teacher in an Italian high school allegedly told the female Jewish student after feeling she was not paying attention in class: "If you had been in Auschwitz, would have been more careful."
According to the student in the Caravillani Rome high school, the statements were made after she came back into the classroom after leaving to wash her face as she felt sick.
The statement of the teacher caused the student to cry and shocked some of her classmates. Some students even accused the teacher of racism. "I am not anti-Semitic," the teacher later told Italian press. “Schools in Italy have no discipline," the teacher added.
The student is considering filing charges against the teacher. Several friends decided to boycott the teacher’s classes. The teacher later told the principal: "I said what I said because a classroom needs order."
The teacher was pulled out of the class and will retire at the end of the school year.
The president of the Jewish Community of Rome, Riccardo Pacifici, praised the students who stood by their friend. "Their support, I think deserves praise," he said. Pacifici said he intends to ask the president of Italy to honor the students in some way.
“I am shocked as most in the Jewish community of the comment the teacher made to one of her students. This teacher should never be allowed to return to a classroom,” John Carostelo, 26, of Rome, Italy told yourJewishNews.com after reading about the story.
Italy is considered a European leader in the fight against anti-Semitism and its education system is dedicated to combat xenophobia. Many Italian students visit the Auschwitz death camp in Poland each year.
