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Canadian school expels students for anti-Semitism

Three students from an elite private school have been expelled for posting horrifying Holocaust images on a student Web site, then lashing out at a student who objected by calling her a "hooknosed parasite" who "should be thrown into an oven with the rest of them."

The boys, one of whom is Jewish, were asked to leave Royal St. George's College, headmaster Hal Hannaford said on Tuesday, after posting "really heinous" images of the Holocaust on an MSN chat board for several private schools to post messages about 10th grade activities.

Hannaford said another four students were suspended from the Toronto all-boys, interdenominational school with an Anglican affiliation. He said the school has been quick to act and would not be playing down the seriousness of the students' actions.

"What we are not going to do is hide behind this, like it's just a few guys that did some atrocious thing out of school," Hannaford said. "While none of the student activity took place at school, as educators we felt morally and ethically bound to act."

The incident has caused an uproar among the student body and parents. The Canadian Jewish Congress has been called in to speak to some of the students and B'nai Brith Canada has invited students to speak with Holocaust survivors and view a film made by US students about anti-Semitism.

Some 200 parents representing about half the student body attended an assembly at Royal St. George's on Tuesday to talk about the incident.

"Our parents showed a great deal of concern and angst, but were really supportive," Hannaford said.

The affair began last week, when several boys, all in 10th grade, apparently hijacked the student site and created the "Gas Chamber" and "The Reichstag" cyber rooms, posting photos of Nazi rallies and Jews being tortured or persecuted.

Several girls from Branksome Hall -- a nearby, all-girls private school -- complained about the postings.

The response from the boys was "graphic, vile and truly shocking," Branksome principal Karen Murton told the Toronto Star.
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