Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / Pattison Media / An organization that calls itself Canada's oldest human rights organization says it has received an apology from the superintendent of Chilliwack School District over a video showing an Imagine High Integrated Arts and Technology teacher giving a lecture about the Israel-Palestine conflict. B'nai Brith says footage taken by a student shows the teacher using the word "Jews" and "Jewish" in an antisemitic manner.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Imagine High

B’nai Brith Canada says SD33 has apologized over video of Chilliwack teacher discussing Israel-Palestine conflict

Apr 18, 2024 | 1:54 PM

**UPDATE: Fraser Valley Today has learned that the Imagine High student who recorded a teacher giving a lecture in class was suspended.**

Original story below: 

CHILLIWACK — Canada’s most senior human rights organization says it has received an apology from the superintendent of Chilliwack School District over a video showing an Imagine High Integrated Arts and Technology teacher giving a lecture about the Israel-Palestine conflict sometime this year.

According to a statement on its X/Twitter page, B’nai Brith Canada, an entity dedicated to combating racism and antisemitism and defending human rights, says it became aware of what it called a concerning video clip of a teacher at Imagine High in Chilliwack

The video circulating on X/Twitter shows an unidentified Imagine High teacher delving into the history of the Israel-Palestine discord in what B’nai Brith says was a “heavily biased” fashion devoid of “historical context.” B’nai Brith says footage taken by a student shows the teacher using the word “Jews” and “Jewish” in an antisemitic manner.

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The incident reportedly occurred during a Grade 12 Genocide Studies class and the lesson, as captured on film, was outside the scope of the provincial curriculum, B’nai Brith asserts.

B’nai Brith says its regional manager in British Columbia, Aron Csaplaros, engaged with the superintendent of SD33, Rohan Arul-pragasam, and received a formal apology.

“Our BC Regional Manager @aron4895 promptly engaged the Superintendent of @ChilliwackSD33 and obtained a formal apology,” B’nai Brith said. “Further, B’nai Brith was promised that measures were already being taken to ensure such an incident would never occur again and was informed that an investigation into the teacher and the incident were underway. Critically, the Superintendent also vowed to ensure that the students involved would be provided with an unbiased and properly contextualized history of the Israel-Palestine conflict.”

B’nai Brith says it will continue to ensure that Chilliwack School District “takes all the action required to rectify the situation,” on behalf of the Jewish community.

“This incident in Chilliwack is part of a concerning, growing trend across the country where both teachers and schools, such as the Peel District School Board in Ontario, are inserting politicized and inflammatory content into the classroom,” Csaplaros added.

Chilliwack School District received feedback from the public and B’nai Brith about the video.

One of the current SD33 trustees has urged people to call on Chilliwack-Hope MP Mark Strahl and all Canadian MPs to demand an immediate ceasefire for humanitarian purposes. The trustee made the post back on November 8, 2023.

Strangely enough, the Imagine High School X/Twitter account is currently locked with its posts being protected. In other words, only existing followers of the school can view its posts and content.

Image: X/Twitter / A screenshot showing the X/Twitter account of Imagine High in Chilliwack as being “protected,” meaning it is locked.