Gettysburg College Trustee Resigns Over Nazi Costume Photo in Yearbook
Gettysburg College Board of Trustees member Bob Garthwait resigned Feb. 19 after a history student found a 1980 yearbook photo of him wearing a Nazi costume in the college’s archives, pennlive.com reported.
Garthwait, who graduated from the college in 1982, wore the costume to an Alpha Chi Rho fraternity party. Attendees were asked to dress as Hogan’s Heroes TV show characters. His costume included a red swastika armband.
Garthwait apologized in a written statement.
“I understand how disturbing this image is to members of the Gettysburg College community, and especially those who are Jewish. As a sophomore in 1980, I was not fully aware of the significance of those symbols,” he said. “While this is no excuse, I am deeply embarrassed and regret participating in this event where Nazi symbols were used.”
Garthwait has contributed financially to the college for many years and the Garthwait Leadership Center was named in his honor.
French Anti-Semitism Marches Coincide with Cemetery Desecration
On the same day marches occurred in France protesting rising anti-Semitism there, about 100 gravestones were found desecrated in a Jewish cemetery, JTA reported.
The stones in a cemetery in the eastern French village of Quatzenheim were desecrated with blue spray-painted swastikas.
French President Emmanuel Macron — who visited the cemetery — said the government would take action. Later on Feb. 19, he held a moment of silence at the Holocaust memorial in Paris.
Meantime, there were about 70 protest marches in France. Protestors held signs that read “That’s Enough.” Former French presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy joined the march, as did much of Prime Minister Edouard Philippe’s cabinet and most major political party leaders.
Orthodox British Nursery Wins Appeal of Case Against Fired Teacher
The Orthodox Gan Menachem Nursery in Hendon, England, won an appeals court ruling against a former teacher it fired because she lived with a boyfriend, JTA reported.
Zelda de Groen had sued the school, saying she had been victimized with discrimination and harassment. She lost her job in July 2016, shortly after moving in with her boyfriend. She worked at the school for four years.
After de Groen and her boyfriend were guests at a barbecue with school trustees and student parents, she said the school told her in a “threatening” tone that it was time to marry.
De Groen did marry the boyfriend later that year.
The judge in the appeal ruled that while an employer can’t “act to the detriment of a worker based on their religious belief, it was permitted to do so based on its own beliefs,” The Independent reported.
Jewish Esports Platform Launched at BBYO International Convention
Lost Tribe Esports, an initiative to connect Jewish teens worldwide via competitive video gaming, was launched at the BBYO International Convention held in Denver Feb. 14-19.
The platform is the first initiative from 4G44 Esports, Inc., a nonprofit created by former Olympic swimmer medalist Lenny Krayzelburg and Lenny Silberman, who has long been active in the Jewish sporting community.
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