I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT HURT more: The antisemitism directed at our seventh-grade son or Our public school administration's attempts to silence us about what happened to him.
Both seared like a brand.
As a documentary filmmaker and journalist, much of my work has been reporting on the worst of humanity.
My late mother named me after the civil rights worker Andrew Goodman, who was killed by racists in Mississippi. It was her way of telling me to at least try to be part of the solution.
One thing I've covered for years is antisemitism. I'd considered myself lucky because, until recently, it never came in any large dose for me or my family.
I live in Westport, Connecticut, with my wife and three children. We moved here because it has a reasonably large Jewish population and well-regarded public schools. All was well until things changed dramatically for my son last year.
It started with a run of taunts against him in sixth grade. Then in seventh grade came a repeated, daily effort to kick him off the lunch table. "Vote him off!" was chanted. The insults and digs grew. Each day he came home more despondent.
It got worse, progressing from general bullying to targeted antisemitism. One student, whom my son considered a friend, invited my son to sign up for his "camp" which had "great showers"-"Camp Auschwitz." He said another Jewish classmate of theirs had already signed up.
My son, who is just 12, found this concerning and upsetting, but this was a new friend, and he hoped this interaction was not indicative of anything more.
Later, the same boy was at our house with my son watching the satirical show South Park. In one of the episodes they saw, a character dressed as Hitler shouts:
"We must exterminate the Jews!" This boy then proceeded to say, "We must exterminate the Jews!" to my son on a regular basis at school.
Denne historien er fra January 05 - 12, 2024 (Double Issue)-utgaven av Newsweek Europe.
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Denne historien er fra January 05 - 12, 2024 (Double Issue)-utgaven av Newsweek Europe.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Falling for Romance
A new book, Nora Ephron at the Movies, celebrates the writer/director best known for her iconic rom-coms and strong female characters
Cracking the Norse Code
Walrus DNA has shown that Vikings were likely the first to have encountered Indigenous North Americans
Monumental Shift
The discovery of 165-million-year-old crystals Easter Island has upended the longheld notion of how the Earth's \"conveyor belt\" moves
'OUR FOREIGN POLICY AND DOMESTIC REFORMS ARE TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN'
It is a well-known fact across the globe that the North Korean regime is irrational and unpredictable, but we have been consistent in strengthening our defense posture against the threat from North Korea since the Korean War, and I believe that their conventional capability is much inferior to that of the Korean military.
'They Read My Eulogy As I Lay in an Open Grave'
Like Paris Hilton, Natasia Pelowski claims she was subjected to abuse at a teenage therapy program
Russian Economy Faces 'Burnout'
Vladimir Putin admits difficulties” as the country’s key interest rate reaches a historic high
China's 'Silent Chemical War'
The U.S. must investigate Beijing's role in the manufacturing of fentanyl that is killing Americans, says one mom whose daughter died after accidentally taking the illicit substance
HARSH HEADWINDS
President Yoon Suk Yeol's BATTLE to reform a South Korea beset with structural problems under the specter of an increasingly aggressive neighbor to THE NORTH
Bridget Everett
BRIDGET EVERETT NEVER THOUGHT SHE'D BE THE LEAD OF A TV SHOW. \"I come from the downtown world in New York, a cabaret singer, and these things just don't happen, you don't find yourself with three seasons of HBO.
Amber Ruffin
A LATE-NIGHT COMEDY SHOW ON CNN? YES, and it's a game show, too.
