Chernowitz vs. Anti-Semitic Article

Where and how does anti-Semitism happen? This connects to both my chosen article and assigned lit circle book because the theme between these two are similar. Both sources talk about how anti-Semitism is, which people get affected, how they get affected, and where it could all happen. Anti-Semitic teens are all around the world, so both the article and book set an example of where and how anti-semitism is shown.

The authors of the book and article sum up anti-Semitism in a similar way, yet it's different as well. In the book Chernowitz!, the author Fran Arrick sets an excellent and unique example of a student facing anti-Semitic 'peers' at school. The main character who's a victim is named Bobby Cherno, and his actions against anti-semitism shows how horrific it can be, especially when it is pressured on a teen. In the book, Fran Arrick states,"I think that in spite of all Sundback's crap, the thing that hurt me the worst was Brian Denny, my 'bestfriend,' who said, as we were getting off the bus at school one morning: 'Move over, Jew bastard, you take up too much room.' It shocked me so much I couldn't breathe for a minute" (61). From the book, this is an example of how a jew teen receives hate from other anti-semitic teens. Getting bulied for being a specific race is horrible as it is, especially when 2 or more people do it. Now, this will date back to the article.

Jefferson Chase, author of article, talks about how a 14 year old Jew experiences high school in the worst way possible just because of his race. This connects to Chernowitz by multiple reasons, one being that there is a teenage boy receiving anti-Semitic hate by more than two other students. In the article, Chase writes, "...'Phillip' (not his real name) transferred from the Gemeinschaftschule in the Friedman district of Berlin to another school after sufffering anti-Semitic abuse. The teenager was subjected to verbal harrassment after revealing he was Jewish. He was also grabbed and threatened with a realistic-looking pistol that later turned out to be fake" (Paragraph 3). Chase shows how anti-semitism can affect teens, especially 'Phillip'. Phillip had to move to different schools because of the harrassment he received from his other peers. It also states, "In May of that year, the Deutschlandfunk radio station recorded students from Muslim backgrounds at one Berlin school saying things like: 'If a Jew enters our school, he'll get beaten up- I'd beat him up too" (Paragraph 19). How come mostly all anti-Semitic students are Muslim in Berlin? That is a question yet to be answered.

In conclusion, both the article and the book tie together due to its strong similarities, and weak differences. The article sets an example of a Jewish teen getting bullied because of his race, and the book Chernowitz sets yet another great example of a Jewish teen getting bullied because of his race. Both are true stories, and both are accurate. The only drastic difference is that in the book, Bobby doesn't move to a different high school after getting verbally harassed, but in the article, 'Phillip' exchanges schools. Bobby didn't really have a choie, but 'Phillip' had an option. This sums up how both the article and the book connect with only a slight significance.

Resources

(www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "Anti-Semitic bullying forces Jewish teen from Berlin high school | Germany | DW.COM | 02.04.2017." DW.COM. Jefferson Chase, 4 Feb. 2017. Web. 10 May 2017.

Arrick, Fran. Chernowitz! New York: New American Library, 1983. Print.