Documents seen by The Independent show children are taught about the horrors of the Holocaust when they are still in kindergarten at the Beis Rochel boys’ school in north London.
A whistle-blower, who wished to remain anonymous, has shown The Independent a worksheet given to boys aged three and four at the school. In it, children were asked to complete questions related to the holiday of 21 Kislev, observed by Satmer Jews as the day its founder and holy Rebbe, Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, escaped the Nazis.
The document refers to Nazis only as “goyim” – a term for non-Jews some people argue is offensive.
Emily Green, who used to teach at the same Beis Rochel girls’ secondary school and now chairs the Gesher EU organisation which supports ultra-Orthodox Jews who want to leave the community, said she used to teach at Beis Rochel, part of the Satmer Hasidic sect.
“It’s not uncommon to be taught non-Jewish people are evil in ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools. It is part of the prayers, teaching, their whole ethos,” she said.
Describing it as a form of “indoctrination”, Ms Green added: “Psychologically, you become so afraid of the world out there after being taught how dangerous and bad and evil non-Jews are, that it makes it harder to leave.”
