The mother of a Tennessee Middle School student accused the school's Bible teacher of teaching students 'how to torture a jew.' Juniper Russo, who is Jewish, also alleged in a Facebook post that teacher wrote an English translation of the Hebrew name for God on the whiteboard, which is traditionally not spoken out loud by Jews. Russo then withdrew her daughter, who's in the eight-grade at East Hamilton Middle School from the class.
"If you want to know how to torture a Jew, make them say this out loud," the teacher, Anna McClung then told the class according to Russo. She further noted that her daughter felt 'extremely uncomfortable' on hearing her teacher teach her classmates 'how to kill a Jew,' the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.
She came home and told narrated the account to her mom and told her that she no longer felt safe in the class. Russo and her family, who are Reformed Jewish and members of the Mizpah Congregation in Chattanooga, told WTVC that she enrolled her daughter in the elective class as her options were limited due to a physical disability from a recent surgery.
Investigation
Russo noted that she emailed the teacher several times to discuss her concerns but received no reply from her. She also stated that she reported the incident to the Anti-Defamation League. "I have been a parent for 14 years and I have never in my life heard of a teacher refusing to meet with a parent," Russo said.
According to The Israel Times, Hamilton County Schools issued a statement acknowledging the complaint about its Bible History course and noted that they have launched an investigation into the incident and will 'take appropriate steps based on the findings of that review.'
'Invasive questions'
Russo also wrote on Facebook that her daughter was asked 'invasive questions about her faith' that made her feel 'singled out as Jewish.' The Bible class in EHMS is funded by a century-old nonprofit organization 'Bible in the Schools,' which organizes the class in 29 schools in Hamilton County.
Russo also said that although the school administration acknowledged her concerns, they did not allow her to meet with the teacher as per their policy. The local chapter of the Jewish Federation also said that they were aware of the incident.
