Photo Credit: OgdenSchool.Org
Ogden International School in Chicago

On the very last page of the Ogden International School Student Handbook, a mission statement reads: “Ogden provides a world-class education to students who will become leaders of change within the global community in the 21st century. Ogden has a commitment to provide a distinctive, high-quality international education which cultivates intellectual inquiry and global engagement.”

If contributing to the rise of global anti-Semitism is one of the outcomes of this “world-class education,” then Mayor Rahm Emanuel, CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett and Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis should all be lowering their heads in shame.

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As a father of two elementary school students, I was disgusted to learn that eighth-graders created an anti-Semitic activity based on the online game “Clash of Clans.” As a Jew, to learn that a 14-year-old Jewish student has been the target of hate for months, shown pictures of ovens and told to get in, I’m fearful that my children can expect to live in a world where, when anti-Semitism rears its ugly head, the powers that be are more likely to sweep it under the rug than confront it head-on.

Since news of this disturbing game surfaced over a week ago, the word I see used by the media and bureaucrats is “bullying.” I guess it’s easier to file something under the new fad term society has embraced, than to call it what it is – hate!

Even Mayor Emanuel resorted to downplaying the incident. He said there is no room in our schools for bullying of any kind.

Don’t get me wrong. As someone who was bullied as a kid, it’s a traumatic situation. But being teased for being fat or socially unpopular is fundamentally different from being called a “dirty Jew” or “kike” and being told “Hitler should have put you in an oven.”

Last week I had the honor of interviewing a former radical Islamist – devout anti-Semite – Kasim Hafeez. The British-born Pakistani Muslim, who now calls himself a “Muslim Zionist,” told me, “nobody is born a bigot. But when you are raised on hate, you become an adult who hates.”

Bullies can mature and usually change. Children taught to hate, not so much.

With this climate festering for months, it’s not surprising the game participants took their intolerance to the next level. The students started a team called “Jew Incinerator.”

And why not? Nobody was telling the “future leaders of change” that invoking images of the Holocaust was abhorrent.

Now that the public is aware, we see CPS trying to save face. A trip to the Holocaust Museum in Skokie is hastily arranged, public meetings for parents and the press suddenly scheduled, and statements issued by the CPS CEO reassuring everyone that the principal is working “in cooperation with the network and central office to foster a larger community dialogue around cultural sensitivity and has taken the appropriate actions to ensure this is a teachable moment for our children.”

But this isn’t about “dialogue” or “cultural sensitivity.” The Holocaust is not about Jewish culture. It became part of our history because unchecked hate led to unimaginable suffering. Today the world has an obligation to never forget what happened to over six million Jews. We’ve done such a great job too. The atrocities committed by the Nazis have been reduced to a video game.

I’m not asking that the children involved be suspended any longer than they have. Ultimately the adults in their lives have to be held responsible. That is why the school principal should be fired and any teacher and administrator who is known to have had knowledge of this game.

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Paul Miller serves as Executive Director of the Salomon Center. A highly regarded journalist, editorial writer and political consultant.His byline can be found in the New York Post, Fox News, Washington Times, Chicago Tribune, Jerusalem Post and The Hill. His work has been featured on the Drudge Report and news sites across the globe.