Eastside Elementary School, in Georgia’s second-largest school district, debuted its new logo on Monday by emailing parents.
In the redesign, an eagle with the letters “ES” was drawn on top of the hexagon. The design of this area was inspired by the wings of the US Army Colonel’s eagle. “The new logo and badge have been chosen to celebrate the eagle’s surge in excellence and the history of our wonderful school,” read a parental email from CNN. is.
However, some parents used social media to warn that the design resembled a Nazi symbol with an eagle on a swastika. The Nazi eagle coat of arms in the 1920s was developed by the German Nazi Party and subsequently diverted by neo-Nazis and various other variations of white supremacists, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
“I don’t want my kids to go to school where the logo is a symbol of the Nazis,” parent Stacy Eflat told CNN.
Efrat’s family of three mothers is Jewish and one of her children is a sophomore in school. After seeing the backlash from others in the community online, she learned about her logo and expressed her frustration on social media.
“I look at the email and it’s like,’Oh my god, the logo looks like a Nazi symbol,'” Eflat said. “Why did this happen? I couldn’t really understand it. I still don’t understand how it happened.”
Another parent of the school, Rabbi Amanda Flaks, also expressed distrust about how the logo was approved.
“I can’t imagine at least one of the staff, graphic designers, and board members who approved this image didn’t see what others in the community were seeing, as far as this image evokes. For many of us. “
Flux said she and her husband immediately felt uncomfortable when they saw the new logo appearing in the email and contacted the principal.
“It resumes the wounds that many students and families always have,” Flaks said of the redesign. “I think anti-Semitism, or microaggression, is just one part of everyday life in the Jewish community, but it’s even more painful when it comes from our public institutions.”
In response to the backlash, the school principal sent an email to parents obtained by CNN stating that they had “paused to consider their feedback” and confirmed the logo.
A spokesperson for the Cobb County School District confirmed in an email to CNN that the logo was no longer deployed.
“The logo has been discontinued and we are immediately considering any necessary changes,” a district spokesman told CNN by email. “We understand and strongly agree that the similarity to the Nazi symbol is unacceptable. This design was based on Colonel’s eagle wings, but stakeholder opinion is me. It continues to be important to our school. “
For some parents like Efrat, the district’s response was not sufficient. “I don’t know where the apology is, and why are we pausing to rethink? It sounds like you don’t know what you’re trying to do,” Efrat said.
Flux also pointed out that modeling the school logo after the military insignia was inappropriate in the first place.
“It’s a public elementary school. Why is the military insignia used to design a new logo? It’s not a military academy,” Flaks said. “For many people inside and outside the Jewish community, this image is colloquially recognized as the Nazi image at first glance.”
Education is “a way to attack this problem”
According to data from the Defamation Prevention League, which includes both criminal and non-criminal cases of harassment, vandalism and assault, Georgia saw an increase of 133% in 2021 anti-Semitic cases and 49 in 2021. The number of cases increased from 21 in the previous year.
According to Synagogue Managing Director Marty Gilbert, the elementary school is across the street from the synagogue congregation Ets Chime, who contacted the principal after hearing from several upset members of the school’s parents. rice field.
“Parents, and of course, are very angry about it,” Gilbert said. “It’s just another example of the existence of anti-Semitism, and people may not know all the Nazi symbols and all the different things that would confuse people. But we need to know these things. “
US Jewish advocates also talked about the logo and called for stronger Holocaust education.
“Unintentionally, the Cobb County School should have recognized that the new Eastside Elementary logo has an impressive and unpleasant similarity to Nazi eagles,” the American Jewish Committee said on Tuesday. Said in a Facebook post. “This only reveals the urgent need for comprehensive Holocaust education at all levels.”
The Anti-Defamation League also contacted the school and the Cobb County School District on the issue, and Eytan Davidson, director of the organization’s Southeastern Region, told CNN.
“We commend the suspension of the redesign of the Eastside Elementary School logo,” Davidson said in an email statement. “In our assessment, the newly proposed design is not a symbol of the Nazis, but we listen to the concerns of community members, especially given the significant increase in hate crimes and anti-Semitic cases reported in states and regions. Tilt is essential. “
The logo is the latest controversy related to anti-Semitism in schools in the Cobb County School District.
“Over the last five years or so, anti-Semitic cases have certainly increased,” Gilbert said. “And that’s certainly something we have to be vigilant about, but I think more people will be educated and recognized as a way to attack this issue.”
Source: www.cnn.com
