New York –
Students from an Orange County school plagued by accusations of antisemitism
were given a lesson in tolerance Monday.
As CBS 2’s Kathryn Brown
reported, several student leaders took a unique trip to hear personally from
Holocaust survivors, hoping to spread the message of acceptance back on campus.
They met the survivors on a
visit to the “March of the Living” exhibit at the United Nations, a graphic and
emotional Holocaust display that would be a reality check for anyone.
And for the students from Pine
Bush High School, which is part of a district plagued by widespread allegations
of antisemitism, the message hit home particularly hard.
“I couldn’t fathom, like, the
fact that they did lose everything, but they still had the hope to go on,” said
Pine Bush sophomore Savanna Paxton.
The Pine Bush Central School District is embroiled in a federal lawsuit,
filed by three families whoclaimed the district tolerates the harassment of Jewish students.
The lawsuit also include
exhibits such as pictures of Nazis and Ku Klux Klan graffiti.
On Monday, the Pine Bush
students heard from Holocaust survivor Judy Weissenberg Cohen, who lived
through the Auschwitz concentration camp.
“This is what frightens me,”
Cohen said, emphasizing that words led to the horrors of the Holocaust.
Pune Bush sophomore Andrew
Cunningham said he agreed that words can be damaging.
“I think words are really
important, because with words, like, there’s a saying that the power of life
and death is in the tongues,” he said.
Cohen and other survivors spoke
one-on-one to these students, in hopes their message will resonate hard.
Students who spoke to CBS 2
said they have never witnessed antisemitic bullying. But they are well-versed
on the topic because of the allegations in the district.
They students volunteered to
visit the U.N. and meet the Holocaust survivors, in hopes that they could be
the voice of change.
“We hear, like, all the stories,
Holocaust stories, in school, like, we’re learning about it in school. But I
feel like if I hear it from a survivor, I’ll have more information; more
knowledge on it,” said Pine Bush sophomore Aleena Khan.
Throughout the exhibit, students
had an opportunity to create their own virtual plaque, and pledges will be
shown at places like Auschwitz.
