High school educator accused of breaching 'neutrality' by commemorating victims of Israel's war

A high school science teacher in France has been suspended since late March for holding a minute’s silence for the victims of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Le Parisien reported on Thursday, citing education authorities, that the physics and chemistry teacher at Janot Curie high school in Sens, Yonne, was suspended on 31 March. Five days earlier, a minute’s silence was held just at the end of her class to pay tribute to the victims of the war, just as Israeli forces unilaterally broke a ceasefire in Gaza and killed more than 700 Palestinians.

The decision marks the latest episode of French authorities taking punitive action over protests and remarks related to Israel’s war on Gaza. Jean-Paul Delescaut, leader of the General Confederation of Labour union, was handed a suspended one-year jail sentence for writing in response to the 7 October Hamas attacks: “The horrors of illegal occupations… are receiving the responses they provoked.”

    • Obelix@feddit.orgEnglish
      1030·
      12 hours ago

      I disagree. It’s totally not ok for a teacher to bring something like this into the classroom. Physics and chemistry class really is not the place to push political topics onto pupils and a five minute minute of silence is also not the way to discuss these topics with them. Not sure about France, but here in Germany there are classes on history or political sciences and those are the correct context to teach students about the middle east conflict: The teachers are qualified to teach about theses subjects and they have the time. Staging something like this will bring you into trouble in most civilized countries, because it is totally not ok.

      • vormadikter@startrek.websiteEnglish
        481·
        11 hours ago

        Fellow German here.
        Want to point out that I had to attend a minute of silence during school after the terror-attacks of 11.09.2001 (“9/11”). And that was ok. I even remember how a teacher got into Trouble for not wanting to do it because we dont do shit like that when “others then westerners” die.

        To me, the official reaction of state and media is and was always a question of who dies.
        3000 US citizens - gotta have a minute of silence. Same number of dead people world wide due to landmines? C’mon, thats boring and uninteresting!
        1200 Israel citizens- jupp, gotta be all down and sad, flags need to be half-masted. 100k Palestinians, c’mon, they had it coming, deserve it, where hiding terrorists…
        To me, everything is bad and sad.
        But politicians and media here and elsewhere in the west have it nicely separated. All double-standard bs.

        • Obelix@feddit.orgEnglish
          55·
          10 hours ago

          The 9/11 thing was ordered by the education ministeries and not something that one teacher decided to do. It was stupid and we did boycott it.

      • Zombie@feddit.ukEnglish
        27·
        11 hours ago

        Genocide is not just a political topic.

        Yes teachers are hired to teach specific subjects, but that isn’t their only role.

        They teach how to be a person within society, the social contract (a French term I might add), and how to engage critical thinking.

        They’re not there just to blindly teach how to memorise the curriculum. There’s nuance to their role.

      • Jeena@piefed.jeena.netEnglish
        19·
        11 hours ago

        I disagree, if the minute was for the victims of October 7, he would not have been suspended, I guarantee it.

        It has nothing to do with what he did and everything with for which sides victims he played tribute to.

        And here I stand by it, it’s exactly what Russia is doing in schools too.

      • nuko147@lemm.eeEnglish
        81·
        11 hours ago

        All teachers are meant to teach you how to be a human being. I don’t know about Germany though.