Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on February 6, 2015

It points to intense anxiety within the Jewish community following the Islamist attacks on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Kosher supermarket in the French capital last month.

The Coombe Federation which runs separate boys and girls schools in New Malden, Surrey, cancelled planned visits to Kingston Synagogue as part of an educational programme marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

Both schools held a detailed programme of lessons and assemblies to commemorate the holocaust but governors voted not to send pupils to the synagogue after hearing that security had been stepped up in line with advice.

A local primary school, which has not been named, also pulled out of a recent educational visit to learn about Judaism, according to Rabbi Samuel Landau of the local orthodox United Synagogue.

We were open with the schools about the fact that we have enhanced security measures in place, he said.

This has never been about blaming the schools or having a go at the schools but I dont want this to be the beginning of a worrying trend.

In a joint letter to newspapers Rabbi Landau and Rabbi Charley Baginsky, of Kingston Liberal congregation, said that the motivation was fear fear of the children being in a synagogue, fear of association with Jews.

They said that although the schools felt they were acting in the childrens interests, the result was a threefold victory to perpetrators of terror and extremism.

First, it gives in to the fear that these terrorists created rather than combating it with strength and care, they said.

Second, it deprives the children of an education against extremism.

Continued here:

London schools cancel synagogue trips citing security fears after Paris terror attacks

Category: Synagogue
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