Become a Member
Simon Rocker

BySimon Rocker, Simon Rocker

Opinion

GCSE antisemitism: the hidden question

June 1, 2012 08:34
1 min read

There has been a sharp divergence of opinion among Jewish educators about the wisdom of the question set in a GCSE religious studies exam this year, “Explain, briefly, why some people are prejudiced against Jews”.

Some believe it was an open invitation for children to express antisemitic views. Others point out that there was little risk of this since the question appeared in a Judaism paper and reflected a prescribed topic about stereotyping and scapegoating that those sitting the paper would have studied. The exam board says that so far responses to the question in exam papers show that students correctly understood its intention.

Many of the 1,000 pupils who sat the paper would have been pupils at King David Manchester and JFS.

But there is a broader question to be answered. Why should antisemitism be a topic for religious studies, rather than, say, history?