Texas school district orders removal of Anne Frank's diary from shelves

[riversedge]

Source: jpost.com





It was the latest in a string of book removals being implemented at schools at the behest of conservative activist parents and school board members

By ANDREW LAPIN/JTA


Updated: AUGUST 17, 2022 18:57



A school district in suburban Fort Worth, Texas, has ordered its librarians to remove an illustrated adaptation of “The Diary of Anne Frank” from their shelves and digital libraries, along with the Bible and dozens of other books that were challenged by parents last year.
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“By the end of today, I need all books pulled from the library and classrooms,” wrote Jennifer Price, Keller ISD’s executive director of curriculum and instruction.


It was the latest in a string of book removals being implemented at schools at the behest of conservative activist parents and school board members who are challenging a slew of texts on grounds ranging from their LGBT-friendly content to their supposed connections to “critical race theory.” Some of these challenges have ensnared books with Jewish themes in the past.

“When we got ‘The Diary of Anne Frank,’ we thought, ‘This is a joke.’ But it wasn’t.”
Laney Hawes




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“When we got ‘The Diary of Anne Frank,’ we thought, ‘This is a joke.’ But it wasn’t,” Hawes said, adding that the complaint was that “the book shouldn’t be read without parent supervision.” She suspected that the parent may have objected to the unabridged diary’s references to female genitalia, same-sex attraction and other sexual matters, which have been deemed “pornographic” by parental challenges in the past. But she couldn’t be sure because the parent who challenged the book didn’t show up to the meeting.......................

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Read more: https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-714895

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Anne Frank at her writing table in 1940; how many Anne Franks were lost in the Holocaust? (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

[milestogo]

1. I'm speechless.

[Rebl2]

4. Same

[jimfields33]

24. It's actually not the actual novel book but the illustrated edition

[brer cat]

25. Me too.

[BigDemVoter]

34. I am too.

Speechless, disgusted and not one bit truly surprised. These motherfuckers deem kids too "immature" to read about some of the sexual things Anne Frank wrote about, but they have NO problem with kids buying military grade weapons. . . . Fuck ALL of them.

[iluvtennis]

36. Ding, ding, ding!!!

[alwaysinasnit]

2. Only neo-nazis would ban this book.

[forgotmylogin]

33. They also wanted to ban the Bible? That's odd.

Usually that's the example of "stealth objectionable material" that people counter book bans with.

[markodochartaigh]

46. 1 Samuel 18:27

"David arose and went with his men and slew two hundred Philistines. He brought back their foreskins and counted them out before the king that he might become the king’s son-in-law. So Saul gave him his daughter Michal as wife."

Not only King David cutting off foreign foreskins for a brideprice, the Bible also has abortion instructions:

Numbers 5: 26
"26 The priest is then to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial[c] offering(T) and burn it on the altar; after that, he is to have the woman drink the water. 27 If she has made herself impure and been unfaithful to her husband, this will be the result: When she is made to drink the water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering, it will enter her, her abdomen will swell and her womb will miscarry, and she will become a curse.(U) 28 If, however, the woman has not made herself impure, but is clean, she will be cleared of guilt and will be able to have children."

[forgotmylogin]

57. Um...

SIDEBAR: Exactly how would a person go about collecting 200 foreskins? I mean...I get how but...THAT'S A LOT.

Does David have lots of...pockets in his battle-loincloth? Do you put them all in a bag, or string them on a cord like a necklace? Document spike? cringe

KING SAUL: "Hello David, it's not a great time as we're conducting Royal business, but...what's in that box-? Wait, just let me move the blueprints for the new castle wing we're working on- (thumpitythump...soft pattering on paperwork) So, you've brought me calamari? Oh, it's not. Oh...I see...you have been busy. So. Ah-why don't you start by sorting them into piles of ten... What? Oh, no, I don't need to shake your hand right now...let's wait until after the wedding."

[moniss]

3. The coward who complained

had too big of a yellow streak to even be at the meeting. What a surprise.

[lame54]

38. Like a cop who doesn't show up for a traffic ticket...

Should be tossed out

[dem4decades]

5. Are they going to put a sticker on it declaring there were good people, on both sides, during her

Hiding in the attic?

[NewHendoLib]

6. We are really in deep trouble as a country. This is beyond the pale

[LiberalLovinLug]

7. She's ANTIFA!!!!!

[catbyte]

22. So were they.

Today's Treason Party would be praising Hitler and condemning Churchill. It makes me actually sick to my stomach thinking about it.

[Rollo]

49. .

Good photos!

[sakabatou]

8. Dafuq?

[Initech]

9. We don't have to wonder anymore about how the average person fell for Hitler's evil schemes.

We're witnessing it in real time. The country that starts banning books is about to commit some unspeakable atrocities.

[NullTuples]

31. When you figure 40+% of voters are willing to vote for it...the average isn't far away.

[bahboo]

10. Teachers and students should walk the fuck out...

[durablend]

27. The right would cheer that on.

"You're all fired/expelled, now get the fuck out"

[SouthernDem4ever]

11. Someone check the drinking water in Fort Worth

There is something in it that causes fascism.

[NullTuples]

32. But how can that be? That water has been Blessed!

Many years ago, I was outside Fort Worth on business & our client insisted we meet a partner of theirs at...a blessing of the town's water tower.

[Aristus]

41. Forth Worth is a PIT!

I'm originally from San Antonio, and the leader of my medical team is originally from Dallas. And we both agree Fort Worth is the kind of place you roll up the windows and lock the doors when driving through, lest some 'Deliverance' types come shambling out to your car.

[groundloop]

12. The Jerusalem Post isn't telling the entire story.....

Books that have been challenged by parents are TEMPORARILY removed while they are reviewed.


https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/17/us/texas-keller-school-district-remove-books/index.html?fbclid=IwAR2xIUhtZAYlVHXkZ8cYkksRDK5UZ7aUhDZhouSFbuvjnT5z76PCkcbGlLE



I hate that Texas can even temporarily have these historical books removed from school libraries, but I also hate when a story gets distorted by not telling all the facts. We need to be better than Fox "news".

[ZonkerHarris]

19. removing for any reason is wrong.

[NH Ethylene]

39. Thanks for that info.

I too hate when a story is not fully honest.

Let's hope the books are returned to circulation, especially The Diary of Ann Frank.

[sop]

13. Republicans don't want kids to know what's in store for America when they take over.

As Churchill (and Santayana) wrote: "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Today's GOP is rapidly moving towards white christian nationalism, fascism and nazism; they don't want students to learn this history so past horrors can be repeated.

[samplegirl]

14. Just ridiculous!

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

15. There aren't enough or really any words. Have they ordered it replaced by...

...anything written by David Irving?

[Evolve Dammit]

16. GOP are Nazis. It's that basic. They want control of everything. Fuck them all.

[Haru]

17. Texas School Dist on Anne Frank book

Looks like they did not want the Germans to feel bad !

[ZonkerHarris]

18. I hate Texas Nazis

[Trueblue Texan]

21. Sincere thanks...

...for not characterizing all Texans as backwards thinking Nazis. I truly appreciate it.
'
I also agree the ignorant people who complained about these books are despicable.

[markodochartaigh]

58. Biden voters

# of voters for President Biden in New York State: 5,230,985. Number of voters for President Biden in Texas: 5,259,126.

The real problem with elections Texas, as with so many states, is voter suppression, disenfranchisement, and gerrymandering.

[area51]

59. +1 n/t

[GreenWave]

20. Why stop there Tex Ass? Why not ban words that have nasty stuff inside of them or sound nasty?

Shall we make a list to send?

1. Dictation??? Are you kidding me? How can that stand?
2. Pusillanimous (Not many probably know how to say it.)
3. Bust of George Washington
4. Head Principal
5. Astronomy

I better stop before I write that horrible misspelling of an alternate word for nation.

[paleotn]

30. Florida has already done that.

Don't say gay now.

[Ponietz]

23. The book is an animated adaptation

Check it out. Astonishing graphics by David Polonsky.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Polonsky}

Kindle gives a sample.

[wnylib]

26. Banning Anne Frank's diary is not

very surprising, given that this is Texas. Terrible, but not surprising.

What really surprised me was that the Bible is on the list. Granted, there are some pretty raunchy stories in it, but I am surprised that somebody in Texas challenged it. Maybe to make a point about x-rated material?

[paleotn]

28. Those who will remove books...

will "remove" humans. The school administrators are gutless bastards.

[tccturtle]

29. Here is some local reporting on this topic by WFAA in Dallas

I think WFAA here in Dallas/Ft Worth actually first broke the story on last nights local news. But that really doesn't matter.

Here is the local news story from WFAA from last night.

[link:https://www.wfaa.com/video/news/education/schools/keller-isd-book-ban-the-bible-anne-franks-diary-adaptation-among-those-pulled-from-libraries/287-a6412088-7b3b-4fe6-ae30-6997ccffe25d|

One thing that I found really interesting, is that in the original broadcast, the story included a copy of the email sent out by the Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Jennifer Price, which was at the end of Ms. Haws interview. A group of local parents, including Ms. Haws thoroughly reviewed the Anne Frank book in question, along with several other books, and they found no issue with them remaining on the shelves. But a group of radical right folk got onto the school board, and now this whole thing has fallen in to a regional and state controversy.

[link:

Link to tweet

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One kicker of this whole order, is that a parent in Keller ISD wanted the Bible added. She withdraw her effort, only to have another parent pick it up. So now the Bible is currently banned as well. IMHO just as it should be.

[link:https://finance.yahoo.com/news/book-ban-backfire-texas-school-164049920.html|

Oh and one last thing. If you would like to voice your displeasure regarding this issue to Ms. Price, her school email address is [e-mail]

[Lonestarblue]

35. If the Bible is in the school library, so should the Koran and the Hebrew Bible.

Add writings on Hinduism, an atheist manifesto, and writings on Buddhism. We are not a mono-theocratic country, so one religion should not be privileged over another.

[NH Ethylene]

40. Why would you want to ban The Bible?

Kids should have access to a variety of religious tomes.

[obamanut2012]

51. Sex, murder, rape (including incest)

Lots of other violence, including torture and killing your children.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

53. Sounds like Shakespeare could be next. n/t

[nakocal]

37. More proof that republicans would have supported Hitler

and the NAZI party if they were around in the 1930s and 1940s.

[keithbvadu2]

42. Anne was a Jew and exposed Nazi atrocities... that's two strikes right there acc to today's republic

Anne was a Jew and exposed Nazi atrocities... that's two strikes right there acc to today's republicans.

[TexasBushwhacker]

52. Yup. They've also banned Maus, a 30 year old graphic novel about the Holocaust

The Jews are portrayed as mice, the Nazis as cats and ethnic Poles as pigs. It won a special Pulitzer Prize. Among the complaints of the book banners was that it had nudity, because the cats forced the mice to strip naked. That's right. They considered unclothed mice as "nudity". Now that they have banned it from school libraries, it's become a best seller 30 years after its original publication.

The best way to get a kid to read something is to tell them it's forbidden.

[Aussie105]

43. The aim is to keep the young minds unsullied and comfortably ignorant.

So books about religion, sex, past human atrocities, any form of violence, just need to go.

And book about drug use, or suspected to involve drugs, need to go too. Alice in Wonderland . . . nope, author was obviously on something, got to go off the shelves!

And NO NEWSPAPERS in the school library, not until a librarian has reviewed and used scissors a lot, anyway.

Never mind that kids have other sources of information that aren't heavily censored - home life, friends, and the Internet.

Kids will discover and learn stuff anyway - but at least a school can't be blamed!

Is that the aim of the exercise? Really?

[Bayard]

44. So, conservative activist parents decide what ALL children can read

Other parents need not apply.

[Shoonra]

45. A prediction from Heinrich Heine (died 1856)

Those who burn books today will burn people tomorrow.

[littlemissmartypants]

47. Maybe they're rejecting the books because they can't read.

It's easier to request that the book be banned than to have to learn to read and less embarrassing.

[cstanleytech]

48. I am reminded of the South Park episode "Raising the Bar" and it's clear that Republicans are

showing us their complete willingness to sink that bar so far down that not even James Cameron could raise it.

[Thtwudbeme]

50. If it gets to this point in NC, I'll put in for early retirement

I am already expecting book challenges this year.

[RussBLib]

54. Glad to see them remove the bible

Now THAT is a dangerous book, but i'm surprised they took it out.

Banning any books is just short-sighted and stupid.

The woman who complained about Anne Frank didn't show up at the hearing, but they removed it anyway?

My state has gone insane.

[Novara]

55. We are running full speed into fascism.

[NNadir]

56. Unbelievable! I read that book when I was eleven years old

It changed my life.

These people ate not "conservatives." They're dangerous radical racist revolutionaries, bent on the destruction not just of this country, but of any concept of human decency.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

60. Anne Frank was a child whose diary chronicled the horror of Nazi cruelty

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