A federal judge is considering an appeal against the dismissal of a teacher in the hamlet of Eckville in central Alberta who taught his public school classes that Jews are responsible for virtually all the evils in the world.
The appeal was filed by Jim Keegstra, 48, who doubles as Mayor of Eckville, a village of 900 in the heart of Alberta’s “Bible Belt.” Several parents had complained when their children came home with remarks such as “all Jews are bad” and Jews are “an evil group spreading an evil religion.”
The local school board warned Keegstra to stick to the curriculum but eventually fired him when he continued to preach anti-Semitism to his pupils. The hearing on his appeal, held in Edmonton, lasted five days and was attended by Hillel Boroditsky, executive director of Edmonton’s Jewish Community Council, and Sheldon Chumir, a civil rights lawyer who flew in from Calgary. The judge reserved decision.
According to witnesses at the hearing, some of Keegstra’s gems delivered in the classroom were: There is an international conspiracy to rule the world by Freemasons, international bankers, Khazars, the Fabian Society, Bolsheviks, Communists, but above all the Jews; Jews enter a country with the sole purpose of gaining mastery over its economy in order to seize political power; six million Jews were not killed in World War II; Jesus Christ was not a Jew; Zionism is a plot to brainwash Christians; inflation, wars and revolutions are caused by Jewish controlled banks, lawyers and universities.
Shortly after his dismissal last December, a group of pupils circulated a petition for his re-instatement because he “taught the Bible.” His principal also wants him restored because he was a “stimulating teacher” who “provoked discussion,” The Alberta Teachers Federation has defended Keegstra’s right to keep his job. No Jews live in Eckville which is 60 miles from Edmonton, the nearest Jewish community.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
