Posted on 01/26/22
| News Source: Algemeiner
An Ontario school teacher’s license was revoked after it emerged that he promoted Holocaust denialism, blamed Israel for the September 11th attacks, and raised other antisemitic conspiracies in the classroom, the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) announced recently.
The OCT confirmed in December its decision to rescind the license of Joseph DiMarco, a former history teacher in the Northeastern Catholic District School Board. He has previously been terminated by his employer, O’Gorman High School, in November 2019.
According to the 17-page decision, complaints about DiMarco date back to 2016, when he openly harassed a student, telling him, “looking at your face is starting to make me feel hate.” The report, which concluded an investigation of the allegations, found that he also taught students to blame the 9/11 terrorist attacks on Israel and, citing his purported research, browbeat them into consulting Holocaust denialist texts that disputed what was in their textbooks.
“When students tried to challenge or question [DiMarco’s] assertions about the figure of 6 million deaths not being accurate, [he] was dismissive, reminding the students how much research he had done,” the report said. “The member shared his view with students that the Israeli government is a malicious force and that it frames itself as the victim by exaggerating the tragedy of the Holocaust in order to make the world more receptive to its agenda.
“The member [DiMarco] knew or ought to have known that his teaching risked arousing antisemitic sentiment among his students,” the report continued.
“There is no place in the classroom for Holocaust denial or conspiracy theories,” B’nai Brith Canada CEO Michael Mostyn on Friday told The Canadian Jewish News, which first reported on the OCT’s ruling. “The teacher in question agreed to a statement of facts that was damning. We are pleased he is no longer in the classroom.”
Also a musician, DiMarco channeled his extremist views into the recordings and productions of his band, “The Coalescence.” In a music video for the song “The Counter-Narrative,” Israeli Mossad agents are depicted as reacting to the collapse of the World Trade Centers by dancing, and in the song “The Evil Empire of Israelica,” DiMarco sings: “The Evil Empire of Israelica. The United States of Israelica.”
DiMarco has not denied nor contested the allegations against him. On Friday, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Union (OECTA) said it was not involved in his disciplinary proceedings and that there are no records of his teaching after 2019. “Our association unequivocally condemns hatred, bigotry, and discrimination, in any form,” the OECTA said.
Issuing a statement on Tuesday, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center CEO Michael Levitt said, “The disturbing actions by this former teacher demand nothing less than his inability to set foot in a classroom ever again.”
“Instead of using the opportunity to teach about the Holocaust and 9/11 and their lessons, he decided to spread Holocaust denial and antisemitism, doing an extreme disservice to his students,” he continued. “The Ontario College of Teachers made the right decision in revoking the man’s teaching license. Educators have a duty not only to provide students with factual information, but also inspire them to be upstanding citizens who stand against hate and intolerance.”
In its report, OCT concluded that DiMarco had “breached the ethical standards of care, trust, and respect.”
“His promotion of antisemitic, hateful, and conspiratorial views to impressionable students was completely at odds with these standards,” it said. “The member’s conduct showed a complete lack of professional judgement and a flagrant breach of the standards of the teaching profession. The classroom cannot be used as a platform for teachers to spread their personal prejudices and hateful viewpoints.”