Heidi Berger has spent the better part of the last decade trying to get Quebec to make education about genocide compulsory in schools.

Now she finds herself caught between the lessons of history and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, in a polarized political climate where the word genocide has been weaponized.

“It’s tough times,” said Berger, founder of the Montreal-based Foundation for Genocide Education. “It’s very, very tough.”

Inspired by her late mother’s commitment to sharing the story of surviving the Holocaust, Berger started the organization to promote teaching young people about some of the greatest atrocities of the 20th century in order to prevent such mass murders from ever happening again.

After much lobbying and nudging, a tool kit was developed three years ago for the Quebec Ministry of Education by pedagogical experts to help teachers delve into the difficult topic of genocide. It covers those that occurred in Armenia, Namibia, Rwanda and Bosnia, as well as the Holocaust, the Holodomor, when the Soviet Union starved millions of Ukrainians, and crimes against Indigenous Peoples.

Although the guide remains optional in schools, it was nevertheless a major breakthrough in Berger’s quest.

Then Oct. 7 happened and put everything the foundation had accomplished to the test.

“What has really been so heavy on my heart is the obstacles to teaching about the Holocaust and genocide after Oct. 7,” she said. “It’s been challenging to give our presentations by children of Holocaust survivors to schools which previously welcomed us. I have to be honest: There are a number of schools who have cancelled scheduled presentations because they cite concerns that discussing the Holocaust or genocide in general may trigger emotions in their students. There’s also a fear of reprisals from parents. And there’s also a basic lack of training in how to mediate discussions on the topic.”

Teaching about a subject as painful, sensitive and complex as genocide has never been easy, but it has become all the more difficult since Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 and taking 250 hostage.

The word genocide went from being an obscure term to a ubiquitous accusation chanted at protests against Israel for its ongoing bombardment of Gaza.

Rhetoric has hardened on both sides, with some now referring to Hamas not just as a terror group but a “genocidal” terrorist organization due to its explicit goal of wiping Israel off the map.

Support for Israel’s right to defend itself has waned as the war drags on and two ceasefires have faltered.

More than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza health ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. Apartment blocks have been levelled, millions of Palestinians have been displaced inside Gaza and there are frequent warnings that Israel restricting aid is pushing the population toward starvation.

There’s no doubt the human suffering is awful. But is it unlawful?

South Africa brought a complaint of genocide........

© Montreal Gazette