JRC Chief Executive, Marc Levy met with Manchester Academy High School Headteacher, James Eldon and Head of English, Mr Verity to discuss the concerns we raised around the teaching booklet for The Merchant of Venice.

We were grateful to James and Matt for immediately agreeing to our request.  The School chose to study the Merchant of Venice to ensure their children were aware of how antisemitism did not start during the Holocaust.  The curriculum focused on antisemitism through history and why age-old tropes were racist and unacceptable.  By the end of the text, the children had a far better grasp of what constituted antisemitism.

The School is home to children from over 100 nationalities, with many having previously suffered prejudice and still traumatised by their routes into the UK. For many, this will be the first time learning about antisemitism and how it can manifest in society and this is a creative way for it to be taught responsibly in classrooms.

The School considered dropping the text but reassessed when realising how powerful their lessons were in combatting hatred and promoting tolerance.  The School took the problematic image from a revision guide, accepted that it could be constituted as antisemitic and have apologised.  They have already amended the image and reviewed the materials used as they continue teaching the text.

We place on record our thanks to James and his team for their work in combatting antisemitism and have discussed further engagement as we look forward to building a close working relationship in the future.