(Jewish Group) Texas school district reinstates an adaptation of Anne Frank's diary amid firestorm

[Behind the Aegis]

Texas school district reinstates an adaptation of Anne Frank’s diary amid firestorm of controversy

The Texas school district that ordered a version of Anne Frank’s diary to be removed from its shelves last week says it has added the book back into its schools after igniting a media firestorm, as outside groups prepared to send hundreds of copies of the famed Holocaust text to the district.

Keller Independent School District outside Fort Worth had returned “Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation” as of Friday, along with the Bible and a children’s graphic novel, the district told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. The district also updated its database of books that have been challenged by parents to indicate that these texts had been reinstated.

The 2018 graphic reimagining of the famous Holocaust diary was caught up, along with the Bible, in a conservative-led push to remove “pornographic” material from the district. The resulting attention made the district the poster child of a national controversy about conservative campaigns to remove books from schools, particularly ones dealing with race, gender and sexual identity. Some Jewish-themed books have been ensnared in the campaigns.

The head of the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, Hadassah and other Jewish groups had condemned the Keller school board’s actions. The district soon insisted that the books were only “under re-evaluation.”

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