A Hebrew teacher has been sacked from a Scottish secondary school for showing a group of children an explicit film.
During an after-school class in December 2017, Jonathan Guetta screened an excerpt from Waltz with Bashir, an 18-rated Israeli animated film about the 1982 Lebanon War.
The teacher showed the Mearns Castle High School pupils – some of whom were aged just 11, according to court documents – the first 20 minutes of the movie, standing in front of the screen during inappropriate scenes.
The film itself contains pornographic scenes - though Mr Guetta did not show these - and extreme violence – including children being killed.
It has also been banned in some Arab countries due to its portrayal of the Sabra and Shatila massacre, in which hundreds or thousands of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians were killed.
Facing a number of allegations – including exposing pupils to inappropriate, upsetting material, allowing them access to pornographic material and failing to seek parental consent – Mr Guetta was dismissed in May 2018.
East Renfrewshire Council, which runs Mearns Castle High School, dismissed his assertion that the excerpt only contained material which would be classified 12A.
According to the Herald, the portion of the movie he showed contained violence, including dogs being shot, inappropriate language and male and female nudity.
After trying to sue the council over claims they had been antisemitic in dealing with him, a Glasgow Employment Tribunal ruled against Mr Guetta.
A judgment on the case, seen by the JC, revealed that in January 2018, Mearns Castle High School received complaints from parents, and two pupils were withdrawn from the Hebrew teacher’s class.
According to documents related to the tribunal, Mr Guetta then sent a link to the entire film to a 15-year-old pupil, “despite being aware of parents’ objections to the viewing of Waltz with Bashir”.
The teacher, from Gourock in Inverclyde, was reportedly referred to the General Teaching Council for Scotland, but no action was taken against him.
He has since been employed by another school.
Mr Guetta declined to comment.
