Remember the outrage and handwringing last October when a few suburban St. Louis middle school students celebrated "Hit a Jew Day"?
Well, guess what? The holiday -- at least a variation of it -- is back. This time it occurred at a middle school in Naples, Florida, where ten students were suspended last week for participating in "Kick a Jew Day". News stories out of Florida don't say what prompted the holiday.
Last year at Parkway West Middle School, a group of sixth-graders conceived their very own "Spirit Week" that included such fetes as Tap a Tall Person Day, High Five Day, Hug a Friend Day and Hit a Jew Day.
We blame the "Borat influence".
This afternoon Unreal called the Parkway School District to see what advice and wisdom school officials would pass along to their counterparts in Florida.
Most district officials are off today for a holiday they call "Thanksgiving", but one spokeswoman, Cathy Kelly, did return our call.
Unreal: So, are you guys going to call the school in Naples and demand your holiday back?
Kelly: No, no, no.
Do you think this is a copy-cat holiday?
Not that I know of. To tell you the truth, I hadn't heard anything about the Florida incident before you called.
What advice would you give to school officials in Florida?
I wouldn't be presumptuous enough to assume they'd want our advice. But one thing we did was engage the parents and religious leaders right away. We consulted rabbis and the Anti-Defamation League. It was definitely helpful to get different voices and opinions.
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