The ugly face of racism once again surfaced in Israel, this time at Ulpanat Horev, a religious girls’ high school in Jerusalem. A racist video depicting girls in Ashkenazi (Jewish people whose ancestors were in France and Central and Eastern Europe) and Mizrahi (descendants of Middle Eastern and North African Jews) representations was posted to the school’s Youtube account.
The now-deleted video was published on social media under the title “If the School Was Mizrahi” and was part of the Purim skit. Purim is a joyous Jewish festival commemorating the survival of the Jews in the ancient Persian empire.
The school girls in the video can be seen going in a line through a door with black blotches covering their faces. In the video, the girls as Ashkenazi are trying to act as Mizrahi. The comparisons are made with regards to behaviour and their choices in general. It goes to the extent where Ashkenazi are depicted as women who are serene, creative, and spiritual. On the other hand, Mizrahi girls are depicted as wild, boisterous, and improper.
It was seen in the video that each girl’s name lights on the screen as she passes by. Her last name is scratched out and Mizrahi names are placed there.
The students in the video are 12th graders. There is also a staff member seen in the video who made an appearance at one point.
The video soon gained traction and received widespread condemnation with people terming the contents of it as racist. When the opposing voices grew stronger, the school decided to take down the video from social media platform.
“This a video that never should have been made, and it was an accident that happened under our watch,” the school’s management said in a statement.
“The school apologizes and is sorry for the content even though was made by the students as satire and a parody as part of Purim events. Anyone who was exposed to the school’s activity throughout the years knows that this doesn’t reflect the schools at all.”
The students defended themselves saying that it was only recorded in good faith and meant no harm.
“In light of the outrage that the video we uploaded during Adar caused, we the 12th graders want to clear up a few things,” they said in a statement. “The video was produced in a purely humorous way and refers to the school’s inside jokes.”
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The statement went on to say that the girls had performed the play that was performed for Purim by the majority of religious schools in Israel.
“We feel that the person who published the post [making the video public] is looking to create a needless provocation and inspire hate, which is a shame,” the statement continued.
“Especially in these days of conflict and rift among the people, we ask people to abound in free love. Don’t drag us into a needless hateful conflict. Out of love and appreciation for all the shades of people in Israel, regardless of political opinions, roots or religious level, we are leaving the school at the end of the year to serve the people and the nation in national and military service. We are all one people.”
Politicians also commented on the video. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “There is no place for discrimination or racism in the State of Israel.” “We are all one people.”
Education Minister Yoav Kisch also condemned the video. “I watched the video made by the school’s students in shock.”
“I’m even more surprised and horrified that no one in the system vetoed it. The matter is being investigated in the Education Ministry, and our message is clear: There is zero tolerance for racism.”
This incident comes weeks after a group of Ethiopian-Israeli schoolgirls filmed their teachers who were making fun of them in an online group chat while on a field trip.
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