91Â鶹¹ú²ú¾«Æ·×ÔÅÄ

Since April 2023, 91Â鶹¹ú²ú¾«Æ·×ÔÅÄ been training educators across the European Union to better spot, prevent and confront antisemitism in and out of schools. We have spoken with teachers and school directors in Greece, Croatia and France and asked them about the crucial elements an effective response to this growing threat should have. Here are the nine tips they have identified. 

"Schools should address antisemitism continuously, not only when something bad happens", says Nina Karkovic, a school director from Croatia. This opinion is echoed by her colleagues across Europe, who endorse a cross-curricular approach and the need for more robust anti-discrimination school policies. 

Laurent Klein, a school director from France, points out that educators need to be trained about different forms of prejudice and intolerance. He reckons that antisemitism, representing a particular form of discrimination, must be addressed as such – across subjects, with different age groups, throughout the year and not only on specific occasions or dedicated days. 

He adds that such education can start early but should be adapted to learners' needs. "With younger students, we can discuss how people can be rejected and why."

The number of antisemitic incidents in Europe  over the past decade, ranging from using antisemitic language, symbols or direct threats. "Children often don't realize the gravity of their actions. We must show them we are concerned," says Laurent Klein. To do this, teachers and school directors should set clear expectations for mutual respect. This implies having a zero-tolerance policy for such incidents and applying consistent measures that support any potential victims and constructively engage with offenders.

Nina Karkovic points out that educators may require additional guidance and support to tackle antisemitic incidents: "For now, schools have guidelines for disciplinary measures in response to students' misbehaviour, depending on the scale of the incident. It would be useful to have a policy document with guidelines emphasizing antisemitic incidents."

Loranda Miletic from Croatia adds that there is a well-felt need for quality resources like lesson plans, guidelines and recommendations with scenarios of different situations educators may encounter at work, as well as case studies and best practices. UNESCO offers support to national ministries in charge of education to develop these tools that may be further adapted by every school as per their needs. 

To address antisemitism, teachers should also provide accurate information about Jewish people, culture and the complex processes that have led to violence and genocide. Niki Tsiaousi, Professor of History at the Gymnasium n2 of Kalamaria from Thessaloniki, Greece, highlights that teaching about Jewish life and culture not only during the Holocaust but also before and after it may help counter prejudice and discrimination. She believes that teachers should examine economic, social and political factors that may foster antisemitic beliefs without excusing hatred in any form. 

Anastasios Makrogiannopoulos, professor of theology and history and school director at the Gymnasium of Katsika in Ioannina, Greece, encourages teachers to understand students' perspectives before guiding them to reflect critically on stereotypes or prejudice. In his view, ignorance is a widespread reason behind antisemitic incidents. 

Laurent Klein from France adds that students may have different opinions on various topics within the compulsory national curriculum, and teachers should reckon with those to find sensitive and ethical approaches. "We have to think about the children we're welcoming. They are all different, and we must be aware and cautious about how we look at the content we need to cover with them."

One of the ways to promote thoughtful, reflective dialogue where students feel safe challenging assumptions and voicing confusion versus remaining silent is through asking questions and inviting multiple viewpoints. This approach allows a reasonable distance between people and their views while discussing the context without neglecting it. At the same time, educators stress that such conversations should shed light on historical context and patterns behind current events to avoid simple answers to complex questions. 

"Schools are not islands in society. When the major antisemitic incidents happened back in 2015, we had a conversation about it with our students. We cannot ignore what's happening in the world behind the school walls," says Laurent Klein.

Niki from Greece also invites teachers to complement their lessons with materials that allow students to ask questions themselves – such as archive videos and statistics from different sources.

Teaching about the events that happened in a remote past or faraway place can be very challenging. To get the message across and help students relate to the topic, Nina Karkovic stresses the importance of meaningful youth engagement. As one of the best practices, she mentions the Anne Frank exhibition that travelled around Croatia, where students played an active role and became actual guides leading the visits for their peers.

In France, the CoExist programme pairs mediators from different backgrounds to discuss racism, antisemitism and discrimination with young people. Led by young adults, they allow an exchange with the teenagers using a fun, interactive method that encourages students to reflect on questions of identity, equality and conflict.

Despite schools bringing together students from all walks of life and with very different backgrounds, educators flag that respect for diversity is not inherent. It should be nurtured by creating dialogue spaces and celebrating each other's uniqueness. According to Nina Karkovic, one of the ways of doing it is by encouraging visits to different religious communities and inviting their representatives to speak at the lessons. 

Laurent Klein also highlighted school visits to different places of worship as a practical way to fight against antisemitism and other forms of intolerance and discrimination: "In France, we may teach about religions as cultural phenomena by exploring those through art, literature, architecture, different ways of living. When neutral towards all religions, you can be open to many options. When we visit churches, Hindu temples, mosques and synagogues, and sometimes even look at the religious texts, students can compare and see the links between different cultures and religions, that we are all part of one humanity."

Anastasios from Greece reckons that educating against biases and prejudice makes sense only if teachers practice what they preach themselves: "We as teachers are fighting with our past and may not be educated and cultivated enough to react to antisemitic incidents in schools.". His colleague Niki adds that teachers are not safe from being affected by fake news and pre-existing prejudice. In this context, directly challenging one's bias is not easy. However, creating collaborative exchange platforms where teachers can share their experiences and struggles could be a start. 

Loranda Miletic reminds about successful communities of practice, such as the Adriatic dialogue (brings together Italian, Slovenian and Croatian teachers) and the Balkan dialogue (unites educators from Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and neighboring countries). In both cases, they use the Holocaust as a starting point for their discussions. In turn, this opens up opportunities to explore the biases and challenges that others face, which may help rediscover one's voice. 

Advocating community cooperation between schools and families, faith groups, local stakeholders and activists is an essential part of addressing antisemitism, intolerance and discrimination. For example, schools collaborated with filmmakers in Croatia to screen the movie "Museum of the Revolution", followed by a public talk about anti-Roma discrimination with the vice president of the Roma youth organization.

Through the European Herstories project, schools across Greece can learn about the multifaceted history of Jewish women in 20th century in Europe by visiting the Jewish Museum of Greece. Their resources help young people to understand Jewish history and antisemitism from a gender perspective.

• More on UNESCO’s addressing antisemitism through education
• UNESCO’s work in countering hate speech