Teacher told: Ditch the Star of David
Officials say small piece of jewelry could provoke Muslim students
Posted: February 6, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern
2004 WorldNetDaily.com
A teacher in Norway has been told to stop wearing the Star of David he normally
hangs around his neck because it might provoke the many Muslim students at the
school where he works.
According to a report in the Aftenposten newspaper of Oslo, officials from the
Kristiansand Adult Education Center, a government institution, told Inge
Telhaug he could no longer wear the 0.6-inch-wide piece of jewelry.
"I can't accept this. It is a small star, 16 millimeters, that I have around my
neck, usually under a T-shirt. I see it as my right to wear it," Telhaug told
Norwegian Broadcasting.
Although Telhaug is not Jewish, he said he sees the Star of David as "the
oldest religious symbol we have in our culture, because without Judaism there
would be no Christianity."
Telhaugh, who teaches immigrants Norwegian language and culture, said the
restriction violates his free-speech rights.
Kjell Gislefoss, principal of the school, was especially concerned about the
symbol offending Palestinian immigrants at the school.
"The Star of David would be a symbol for one side in what is perhaps the
world's most inflamed conflict at the moment. Many have a traumatic past that
they have escaped and then we feel that if they are going to learn Norwegian
then they can't sit and at the same time be reminded of the things they have
traveled from," Gislefoss said, according to the Aftenposten report.
Telhaugh has hired an attorney to help him fight the restriction.
The head of the Education Association in Kristiansand, Heidi Hauge Uldal,
called the school's decision "unacceptable," saying her group did not want to
go the way of France and forbid all religious symbols in schools.
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