Commentary — A California kindergarten student’s mother, who just happens to be Jewish, was able to get a Christmas field trip to Santa for the kids cancelled. Talia (who won’t disclose her last name but we have it on good authority that it is in fact Goldbergmanstein) said her objection had nothing to do with being Jewish, but rather was about being “inclusive.”
She then just happened to invoke the experiences of her grandparents in the Holocaust. For those of you unfamiliar with the Holocaust, it was when certain individuals who just happened to be Jewish were among the 70 million humans who died during in World War II. It had nothing to do with their being Jewish, of course, but rather was the war being “inclusive.”
Parents and their children stage a class walkout to see Santa after a Jewish mother ‘waged war on Christmas’ and got their public school to cancel the holiday field trip
- Thirty parents at Sartorette Elementary School in San Jose, California staged a walkout on Friday morning
- The parents were upset after a Jewish mother named Talia successfully petitioned the school to cancel a visit to Santa Claus
- The parents took the children on the trip regardless, having the kindergartners skip class for the day
- Talia claims she had been attacked by some of the parents ever since, and one told her; ‘You’re the one who started the war on Christmas’
The woman, whose name is Talia, has a daughter at Sartorette Elementary School in San Jose, California, did not want her to participate in a kindergarten field trip where the children write letters to Santa then go to deliver them, drink hot chocolate and sit on his lap.
She decided to write a four-page letter to the school committee, and now the decade-long tradition has been canceled by the principal and superintendent.
This move however has angered other parents, who staged a walkout on Friday with their children and took them to see Santa.
Thirty students were photographed walking away from the school alongside their parents who were wearing Santa hats.
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‘This is not a Jewish issue for me. It’s an inclusion issue,’ Talia told NBC Bay Area.
‘We can’t spend five days on just one culture. That’s fostering intolerance. When Christmas is given the same time, or less time, than American holidays, like Veterans Day, then kids don’t feel as American.’
Talia also added that in her family her grandparents told stories about getting beaten for being Jewish in Poland prior to the Holocaust.
After meeting with Superintendent Carrie Andrews, the two woman came to a compromise – the children would go on the field trip and drink hot chocolate, but there would be no Santa.
Then soon after, the school principal elected to cancel the entire trip.
Talia said that now some of the other women have terminated their online Facebook friendships with her, and one even yelled; ‘You’re the one who started the war on Christmas.’
Courtesy KGO-TV ABC 7
Letter: The parents took the children on the trip regardless, having the kindergartners skip class for the day
Parent Vanessa Howe went a step further however, and decided to lead the walkout Friday.
She is also calling out what she thinks are problems with Talia’s logic.
‘We had a person come in last week to my son’s class to speak about Hanukkah, and it would be like saying, “I don’t want you coming into the classroom because I don’t want my son around that, or learning about that,”‘ said Howe.
Big E Café owner Ernesto May, who hosts the annual trip, is also upset.
‘I can’t get rid of Santa. It’s an unfortunate situation. Last year, we had 160 children come by to decorate the place, drop letters off to Santa and families donated toys,’ he said.
‘What are they going to cancel next? I know she means well, but we can’t shield our children from everything. When is it going to stop?’
Superintendent Andrews said; ‘Our biggest commitment is inclusion. This isn’t about Santa.
‘Santa is everywhere, he’s all around town. But during school, we have to represent and reflect our community to make sure we’re inclusive of all beliefs.’
