A private school in Vancouver, Canada announced on Oct. 17 that they expelled several students over allegedly anti-Semitic social media posts.
St. George’s School, an all-boys preparatory school grades 1-12, said in a statement that an unspecified number of students took part in “deeply offensive behavior online” that they said ran contrary to the school’s values.
However, the statement noted that the students’ behavior did not amount to criminality and they did not find anyone in the community at risk of being harmed. A police investigation on the matter is ongoing.
A parent of a student at the school told CTV News Vancouver that the content in question included “anti-Semitic posts online celebrating the Holocaust” as well as a “Nazi salute on campus.” Global News Canada similarly reported that they had sources say that “the students were involved in a neo-Nazi Facebook group,” although some said it was mainly Instagram posts in question.
B’nai Brith Canada CEO Michael Mostyn told the Algemeiner on Oct. 24, “We commend St. George’s for taking this deeply offensive and racist behavior seriously,” adding that Canadians “need to uphold a zero-tolerance policy on hate, bigotry, and discrimination.”
The Anti-Defamation League tweeted on Oct. 25, “Making Nazi salutes on campus, mocking the Holocaust, and making #racist and #antiSemitic comments is reprehensible. Good that this school in Vancouver took strong action immediately.”
Making Nazi salutes on campus, mocking the Holocaust, and making #racist and #antiSemitic comments is reprehensible. Good that this school in Vancouver took strong action immediately. #FightHateforGood https://t.co/w4XFMT96BQ
— ADL (@ADL) October 25, 2019
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