Educator sees France’s helplessness when history is distorted

From the perspective of the French educator Iannis Roder, political debates are increasingly overshadowing history lessons. “Gaza is being used as evidence that the Jews are evil. “That makes it legitimate to be against them,” said Roder in an interview with “Welt am Sonntag”. Some students were naive when they said, for example: “That the victims of the past are now committing genocide themselves. Others claim the same thing with a political ulterior motive.” Teachers are often powerless in the face of this “reversal of the facts”.

Religiousness important for identity

On October 7, 2023, the radical Islamic Hamas attacked southern Israel; Since then there has been another war in the Middle East. According to Roder, the date marks a similar turning point to September 11, 2001, when around 3,000 people died in terrorist attacks in the USA. The current question is whether France’s Jews are losing trust in the republic.

At the time, the author described a wave of anti-Semitism in schools. Today he would focus on a “religiosity boost,” he said: “The importance of religion as an intellectual, mental and identity structure and the fact that for many young people today religion is no longer an affiliation, but an identity.” That’s why he feels For example, a girl humiliates herself through the headscarf ban in schools.

Mistrust as a form of terror

The strict separation of state and religion in France is also aimed at enabling young people to develop their own identity. “Islamists have a problem with this,” said the teacher. “Someone who comes from a Muslim family must remain a practicing Muslim in their eyes. They dislike the fact that school offers the possibility of emancipation.”

Teachers think about what they could say about certain topics, Roder warned. “That is also terrorism when mistrust is sown.”