California School Asked 8th Graders to Argue If The Holocaust Was Real
At the Rialto Unified School District in California, an assignment given to eighth graders asked students to argue whether they "believed the Holocaust was a real historical event or a political scheme to influence public emotion and gain wealth."
A district spokesman, Syeda Jafri, said today that this assignment was an "error" and that the school has been receiving death threats from someone they believe to be a white man in his 30s. Acccording to Police Captain Randy De Anda, the death threats are being aimed at both Jafri and interim Superintendent Mohammad Z. Islam.
A team of teachers will meet to revise the assignment, Jafri said, and Islam will talk to the district's education services department to ensure all references to the Holocaust "not occurring" are stricken on any current or future argumentative research assignment.
The San Bernardino Sun went on to describe the assignment, saying that "the 18-page assignment instructions included three sources that students were instructed to use, including one that stated gassings in concentration camps were a 'hoax' and that no evidence has shown Jews died in gas chambers."
