California School District Fires Teacher Who Taught Antisemitic Conspiracies in Classroom

The Hayward Unified School District in California has fired high school teacher Henry Bens following an investigation into allegations that he shared antisemitic material in his classes.

The Algemeiner previously reported that Bens was placed on a leave of absence in February after reports emerged that during a unit on Holocaust survivor Eli Wiesel’s memoir, titled Night, he assigned as class reading “The Hidden Tyranny,” an antisemitic pamphlet authored by Holocaust denier Benjamin Freedman. Among other claims, the work accuses the Jewish community of conspiring to subvert US power, control the media, and dominate world politics. Multiple students also alleged that Bens pantomimed the Nazi salute during lessons.

"The district will ensure that Mr. Bens will not be returning to Mt. Eden High School,” the school district’s assistant superintendent for human resources wrote in an internal letter first reported by J. The Jewish News of Northern California. District Superintendent Jason Reimann had announced the board’s decision to fire Bens during a public meeting last week but did no mention him by name.

When reached for comment for this story, a spokesperson for the Hayward Unified School District told The Algemeiner: “The school district has no comment at this time.”

https://www.algemeiner.com/2023/10/03/california-school-district-fires-teacher-who-taught-antisemitic-conspiracies-classroom/

A rare win.