Florida students suspended over ‘Kick a Jew Day’

By Daniel Tencer
Thursday, November 26th, 2009 -- 3:50 pm
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northnaplesmiddleschool Florida students suspended over Kick a Jew DayIncident follows 'Kick a Ginger Day' controversies

Ten students at a Naples, Florida, middle school have been given one-day, in-school suspensions for participating in "Kick a Jew Day," in which Jewish students were targeted for assault, according to news reports in the local media.

Parents and students at North Naples Middle School told NBC channel 2 in Naples that many students -- all of them Jewish -- were targeted in the attacks, which took place last week.

The station obtained a letter from one parent who said his daughter was a target of the attacks.

"Kids pretender to kick her, and later at lunch, they actually kicked her," the letter stated. "Apparently, many kids, all Jewish, were kicked. I was furious and attempted to call the parents of the girl who initiated this hatred."

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School officials reacted immediately to complaints from students, but some in the Jewish community say the punishment for the ten students didn't go far enough.

“You are talking about an incident that has anti-Jewish bias, if not anti-Semitism," Jewish Community Online quoted David Barkey of the Florida Anti-Defamation League. "You have Jewish students being singled out, harassed and assaulted. ... If the allegations are true, it is possible these students violated Florida’s new anti-bullying law. And, if students were physically assaulted, it could rise to the level of criminal conduct.”

But Rabbi James Perman of Temple Shalom in North Naples said it "seems that the school system has taken appropriate measures," though he noted that he hadn't "seen anything like it in my 17 years in Naples."

KICK A GINGER DAY

The "Kick a Jew Day" incident seems to follow in the footsteps of "Kick a Ginger Day," which started as a Facebook group inspired by an episode of South Park, and resulted in suspensions in school districts around the world after red-headed students were assaulted.

The Fox affiliate in Los Angeles reported Thursday that police are questioning 25 students at a Calabasas, California, middle school after seven red-haired students were allegedly assaulted.

Two dozen students at an elementary school near Toronto, Ontario, were suspended last week after taking part in "Ginger Day," the Toronto Star reports.

Metro.co.uk reports that the first "Kick a Ginger Day" was organized for Nov. 20 of last year by a 14-year-old Canadian girl. The girl has reportedly apologized and renamed her Facebook group "Universal Hug A Ginger Day."

The following video was broadcast on NBC Channel 2 news in Naples, Florida, November 23, 2009.

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Story comments are below...

  • asyaksa52
    Let's have a Kick an Israeli out of US Government day! Or a kick AIPAC out of America day! Or, kick an Israeli spy out of the Pentagon day!
  • asyaksa52
    Let's have a national kick AIPAC out of america day!!!
  • texasaggie
    These people, who were guilty of assault, get one day in school suspensions. A first grader who brought a Boy Scout eating utensil to school got expelled and sent to a class for reform school kids. Go figure.
  • mick
    So would it be true to say we all agree that discriminating against any group or individual is totally wrong ?
    And that supporting the discriminating against any group or individual is totally wrong ?
    And therefore by extension allowing the discriminating against any group or individual to continue. And not trying to intervene and stop it is a crime ,if not legally certainly morally.
    Therefore I say ,the actions of the people of Israel and the use of "collective punishment" against the Palestinian population is illegal and immoral. So how many UN Resolutions to stop "settlements" to "state borders" and withdraw to "1967 borders" should there be before International sanctions are used against Israel.
    To allow a crime to continue and not try to stop it makes you an accomplice ,yes ?
  • Freedom's Toast
    Change the word "crime" to "injustice", and I'm on board.
  • malllvin
    When, for the love of God, are people gonna get it....Violence doesn't feed anthing but hatred. There is no room for hatred. All you need is love.
  • Steven
    Everyday is kick a gentile day
  • texasaggie
    Oh, right. Only if you're a right winger playing the victim card.
  • lolwut
    Hey fellow Jews, let's do a kick a goyim day. It'll be quite the workout
  • How about "kick a retard day", the idiots who thought of this?
  • dennycrane
    ...knock, knock..

    (palin answers the door).."Yes, can I help you?"

    (kid at door) "Can Trig come out to
    play?"

    (palin) "You know he can't
    stand up."

    (kid at door) "Yeah, we know. We
    just want to use him
    for 2nd base."
  • Kickbutt
    I go for kick a wall street banker
  • Shag
    This tihs is just downright stupid.
  • Boson Bison
    You shouldn't kick any Jews unless you're well acquainted with them enough so they realize it's all in fun. Don't go around kicking people. Not in a malicious way. You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you. And also, according to Moses, "Thou Shalt Not KIll."
  • jakegunther
    Conservative children lashing out after hearing parents yell at the TV accusing blacks, jews, gays and strong women. These kids should be jailed and chemically treated not to have children.
  • pakaal
    Kick a Jew? Kick a Ginger? Buncha wussies. Try Hawaii where the annual event is "Kill a Haole (white) day."
  • texasaggie
    How about here in Texas where the bumper stickers say, "Why do they call it tourist season if you can't shoot them?"
  • nedclark
    Unfortunately, this is a graphic illustration of the limitations of social satire...

    WE know that the South Park creators were lampooning jingoistic attacks on convenient minorities, but was rather naive of the Park'ers to use an officially adult program masquerading as `kid's show' to make this point. They should have realized that plenty of `real' children watch the program - and since most kids are incapable of comprehending the finer points of satire, they are likely to presume that the depicted conduct is acceptable. And unfortunately, parents who let their kids watch South Park probably aren't doing a stellar job of discussing the ethical issues with their children.

    Even worse, a sizable percentage of the U.S. adult population lacks the intellectual sophistication to recognize a metaphor when it smacks them up-side the head.

    This is why popular-media presentations of violence is such a fraught concept; for every thinking person who is repelled by violence or depravity, some number of less-thoughtful others will see it as an endorsement- or even encouragement of such conduct.
  • GunTotinLiberal
    We don’t change life in the village to suit the village idiots.
  • Freedom's Toast
    Oh, I don't know...SCOTUS did so, Rupert Murdoch/Fox news did so, the C-Street charlatans are trying might hard, with much success, and....ah fuck, there are too many examples to count.
    The thing is, we need to claw back rationality from the constituency of idiocy.
  • pakaal
    Seriously.
  • davidrvelasquez
    Most teenagers are complete moronic fucking assholes.

    As I recall, me and my friends were.
    I wasn't ever a racist ...but some of my friend were. I knew when to cut them loose.
  • jeffery1949
    Nice wholesome school activity, huh!
    These kids who did the assualts have parents and well, nits make lice!
  • aldoraines
    TRHOW THE JEW DOWN THE WELL...SO MY COUNTRY CAN BE FREE!@@#
  • pakaal
    What's that? Throw you down a well? If you say so....
  • dennycrane
    I'm a "red-headed", "Native American", "Black"," Hispanic", "Asian". "American" "Jew". I wear "shin guards" and I "head-butt." I'm ready.
  • jeffersonperrin
    I'm making a list of all the people who are going to make up those who the Neo Conservative, Right wing, Independent GnOPe Religious wrong morons are going to have to fight someday. So far the list includes; Blacks, Mexicans-well, to shorten this part of the list, everyone of color, Gays and Lesbians, women who have been raped, women who knowing they could be raped (probably by a neo conservative, independent right wing member of the GnOPE Religious wrong) Intelligent people, compassionate people, disabled, sick and or dying people... Well, in short, all 'human beings'.
  • Cannotvote
    Religions sucks - kick all the stupid morons - be secular in your hoofing - bring sense to the world! All those Pagan traditions hacked by subsequent liars and distorters for their own profit - it's no wonder they crucified the Jew Jesus after smashing up the Temple that way - thankfully being nailed up on a cross on a Friday means you get pulled down before sundown and the following Sabbath - can't have vultures eating Jews on the Sabbath cab we - that would be just too much.
    Separation of church and state is a joke, a deception.
  • OldAtlantic
    While all this kicking is going on, all of which I deplore, can't we see a doctor signed birth certificate for Obama?
  • Freedom's Toast
    Thanks for at least deploring that shit, OA. I have no prob stating when our agreements coincide.
    But please, it's plain that it doesn't matter where Papa or Mama were born, just junior. He's as American as you and I, like it or not.

    Oh, and I finally went and looked at Stormfront's site. That's some twisted, scary shit. Let's hope they all wind up like the Nazis in The Blues Brothers (complete with admitting their gayness right before smacking six feet into pavement.)
  • GunTotinLiberal
    TRANSLATION: “Oh crap. Seeing how Naples is predominantly white, and these kids were inspired by a tv show popular with white kids, there’s a good chance that the perpetrators were white themselves. That is really going to hurt my ‘white folks are being victimized by the dirty brown people’ mantra. I need to change the subject and fast. What else can I do? I’m just one man, albeit an old, bitter man that long ago lost control of my bladder.”
  • gr0o
    Tell Oily Taintz we said "hello."
  • pakaal
    Has she paid her $20K fine yet? One can only hope she doesn't let anyone stop her from filing in some other court somewhere. America needs the laughs!
  • dennycrane
    You're just mad because you lost a leg while passing out on a train track and can't kick anyone. But you can always punch yourself.

    And by the way, show us your "birth certificate" from your "puppy mill".
  • grtpyrmd
    For some of these kids this is a direct result of what they hear and see at home, and others are followers. My own daughter comes home with many outrageous ideas that she hears from other students, such as, Obama is like Hitler, he is a Muslim, etc. I would be very interested in the response of the parents whose children participated in this hateful behavior.
  • RichRunyan
    There are a lot of dirty christian rednecks in Florida
  • Dr. Luny
    I understand the type of humor behind this, my friends in high school had a very similar sense of humor. This behavior has nothing to do with anti-semitism, in fact it's a way of ironically making fun of anti-semitism. It's done for the pure devious pleasure of offending all of the sanctimonious authorities at the school and in the community, but there's no anti-semitic ideology here, it's just a big joke.
  • grtpyrmd
    like Kristallnacht, HA,HA big joke.... or perhaps you're being ironic
  • farang
    "Christians in Jerusalem want Jews to stop spitting on them":
    http://www.politicaltheatrics.net/?p=324

    Have a nice day!
  • grtpyrmd
    of course, they are just little christians sticking up for their own... to my jewish friends: get out of bed with the christian right- they are not your friend...
  • The low morals exhibited by television does affect the morals of the individuals watching.
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