BRITAIN WILL CONTINUE TO TEACH HOLOCAUST

In Britain, Holocaust teaching will remain compulsory By Vanessa Bulkacz
LONDON (JTA) -- Britain's Holocaust education programs still rank among the strongest in the world. That's the message from British educators and government, contradicting recent reports that the Department for Education and Skills would scrap its Holocaust curriculum requirement.

"Holocaust education in Britain is compulsory and there has never been any other suggestion," Nikki Ginsberg, a spokeswoman for the Holocaust Educational Trust, told JTA.

Several major British newspapers had reported recently that political correctness -- in other words, fear of offending Muslims who oppose Israel -- was spurring concerns among educators about teaching the Holocaust.

Holocaust educators believe the rumors stemmed from one passage in a 47-page report commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills: A teacher in an unnamed school said she hesitated to teach the Holocaust for fear of offending Muslim students.