Anti-Semitic bullying forces Jewish teen from Berlin high school

DW

The story of a 14-year-old who had to change schools to escape anti-Semitism is making headlines in Germany. The boy’s tormentors were of Arab and Turkish descent – making the news even more explosive.

Symbolbild Kippa und Kopftuch (picture-alliance/dpa/B. Pedersen)

The story about the teenager, which originally ran in the UK newspaper “The Jewish Chronicle,” featured in the weekend editions of many German newspapers as well as the online edition of respected news magazine “Der Spiegel.”

The “Chronicle” reported that 14-year-old “Phillip” (not his real name) transferred from the Gemeinschaftschule in the Friedenau district of Berlin to another school after suffering anti-Semitic abuse. The teenager was subjected to verbal harassment after revealing he was Jewish. He was also grabbed and threatened with a realistic-looking pistol that later turned out to be fake.

“Listen, you are a cool dude but I can’t be friends with you,” the newspaper quoted one of his former classmates as saying. “Jews are all murderers.”
 The mother of “Phillip” decided to send him to another high school. The teenager himself is shocked by what happened to him.
“It was terrible, but I didn’t have time to think what’s happening at the time,” “Phillip” told “The Jewish Chronicle.” “Now when I look back, I think, oh my God.” The newspaper wrote that the case “illustrates long history of antisemitic (sic) harassment of Jewish pupils, particularly by Arab and Turkish children.”

Berlin schools are melting pots, but not always tolerant ones

The first incidence of anti-Semitism
Ironically, the school in question participates in the pro-tolerance initiative “Schools Without Racism – Schools With Courage.” Members pledge to abide by principles of multicultural and interfaith respect, a message that seems not to have gotten through to some of “Phillip’s” classmates.

In a written statement on the school’s website, the school directorship said it was distressed by the incident.
“Firstly we’d like to express our regret and horror that a student was forced to experience anti-Semitism in his everyday school life,” the statement read. “We are losing an especially active and high-achieving student who chose our school with joy and saw it as an opportunity to further his development.”

Watch video (read more): Anti-Semitic bullying…