The principal of William Diamond Middle School in Lexington, Massachusetts, sent an email to seventh-grade students apologizing after some Arab, Muslim, Palestinian, and Lebanese students were offended by a mandatory lesson on the Holocaust and antisemitism.
According to the email, published by the Stop Antisemitism organization, the lesson was intended to connect students' Social Studies studies of the Holocaust to the modern world by helping them "recognize hate, understand where it comes from, and encourage you to speak up against it."
The email states that after speaking with some families, school officials learned that some students "felt unseen," believed that "your own history, your identity, or your community was left out or erased," and that some students left the session "feeling less safe, not more."
"We are sorry," the email states. "Not because the topic was too hard; hard conversations are part of growing up and part of what we do here at Diamond. We are sorry because every one of you deserves to walk into this school and feel that who you are matters; Arab students, Jewish students, Lebanese students, Muslim students, Palestinian students, every student. And in this case, we missed the mark and did not achieve what we hoped to do."
The email adds that the school will work with teachers and families "to build something better - a way of learning about hate, prejudice, and justice that includes all of our communities and all of our histories." It also says students will be invited to help shape future lessons and encourages students to speak with teachers, counselors, or school administrators if they wish.
Commenting on the email, Stop Antisemitism wrote: "Since when is teaching historical fact something that requires an apology?
"And why is a school principal validating outrage over Holocaust education instead of defending it?"