Holocaust denial quotes snuck into yearbooks at two Canadian schools
Students at West Bedford High in Nova Scotia and Lawrence Park Collegiate in Toronto submitted hateful quotes. Schools apologized and recalled yearbooks.
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Graduating students at West Bedford High School in Bedford, Nova Scotia and Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute in Toronto submitted Holocaust denial quotes in their yearbooks this spring — and the quotes were published before the schools caught them.
At West Bedford, one quote questioned the figure six million — the documented number of Jews killed in the Holocaust — and offered a number 20 times smaller, commonly used by Holocaust deniers. The school apologized, recalled all yearbooks, and asked students to return them for reprinting without the hateful quote.
Principal Sean MacDonald said in an email to parents that the "antisemitic and polarizing content" should have been identified and removed before printing, though he did not explain how no one noticed it beforehand.
At Lawrence Park Collegiate, a similar quote questioning whether the Holocaust happened was published undetected. The Toronto District School Board's spokesperson Ryan Bird apologized for the antisemitic comment and said students can voluntarily return their yearbooks for new versions.
"There is absolutely no room in our schools for hate or discrimination of any kind, and it will not be tolerated," Bird said.
Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, senior director of policy at the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, said she has been in touch with Lawrence Park since the incident. She confirmed the quote propagates hate against Jewish people and questions whether the Holocaust happened.
Experts say online memes denying the Holocaust have become popularized in recent years, and students may be using vague phrases from social media hoping no one will notice them.