"Why are your people doing this?" Bullying in the classroom and the situation in Israel

*Juliette is 9. She was looking forward to going back to school this week following the winter break, but she's not happy. In fact, although it's only Thursday, she's found the week very hard and doesn't want to go to school tomorrow. You see, she's being bullied - because she's Jewish.

"What sort of people are you?" she's being asked, constantly, at school. "You Jews are terrible, you're all the same. You're murderers. Why are you killing thousands of people in Palestine? Why don't you leave other people alone?"

Juliette's mother, Laura, is at a loss for what to do, especially as the political situation in Israel has become her daughter's sole topic of conversation. She doesn't feel that Juliette is sophisticated enough for a full understanding of Middle Eastern politics, but she is trying to help, especially as her daughter has become obsessed by the daily news. Juliette is slowly realising that not everything her tormentors are saying is actually true, and that they see no difference between Israel and the Jews, but knowing that doesn't help her feel any better. They - particularly the Muslim girls, who have told her about all the rallies they have gone on and are especially vitriolic - seem to think that Juliette has responsibility for what is going on in the Middle East.

But Laura hasn't even spoken to her daughter's teacher about all this, even though Juliette is becoming increasingly upset.

"It's so sensitive," she says. "My daughter's on the receiving end of classic anti-semitism, but it's hard. She only went back to school this week and I don't want to be seen to be as a whinging parent. I suppose I'm also worried about the political views of the teachers themselves. I do want it nipped in the bud, but what if they sided with the bullies?"

The girls who are bullying Juliette - and it is bullying - are full of misinformation, but I suppose that's not a surprise. This week Ruth Gledhill wrote a fine piece on the "new" antisemitism which covered how close anti-Zionism and anti-semitism are, and how the Jewish community around the world is coming under threat. This is a tiny microcosm of that, but I do wonder, shouldn't Laura tell that teacher?

* names have been changed.

Read School Gate on:

Bullying because of religious faith

Political bullying - and why I'm almost envious

Comments

[georges]

We need a 100% secular education system. Children should be prohibited from wearing any religious emblems to school - Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Scientologist, whatever. The French have the right idea.

[Greg Gordon]

There should be zero tolerance for bullies in school. The Muslim girls who bully others should be forced to take sensitivity training classes from Jewish rabbis.

This is the consequence of the pro-Palesinian bias of the media and the success of Ilamist propaganda.

Western governments should do something about this urgently unless they want to see themselves overpowered by this flood of demagogic fanatism and organised misinformation.

[David]

Like it or not, your very existence is an acting representative of your "origin"; British Jews are representative of Israel, British Muslims represent the Muslim world, etc.

A good example is of a friend, a British Chinese, who was assaulted whilst walking with me whilst the Tibet protests were going on. He hasn't a care for politics, his "home" country (he and his parents were born here), or the government of China. Yet he was still attacked.

It doesn't matter if you have no affiliations with the country in question, the politics, etc - society still seems to be quick to base assumptions primarily on how you look. The sooner we move away from "our roots", and mould a new, British identity that encompasses every citizen here, the sooner we can have one collective voice instead of squabbling like tribes.

[Terry R]

Do these other children have any rights in the writer's eyes? Like the rights to be considered children, younger people who have not yet reached the age of criminal responsibility? Children who have not yet had enough experience of the world to form their own opinions?

They are charged not with ordinary racism but specifically with "classic anti-semitism". Why is that a greater charge? Because of the history... but what have 9-year-old children got to do with that history? They can criticise any race from a basis of equal innocence of the world. To besmirch them by association with past adult crimes is despicable.

And it is unfortunate to even hint that Juliette is more precious than those other lesser beings for whom apparently there is no excuse in the writer's eyes. The outrage at the indifference to the fate of Gazan children is partly coloured by the obvious deduction that Israel would equally happily shell most of the schoolchildren of London.

[Sean]

This is just getting out of hand, kids are kids, alot of little muslim girls probably got bullied some even beaten up after 9/11 or 7/7. These things happen, im not saying its right, but what is worrying is the incompetance of Laura as it states, "Laura hasn't even spoken to her daughter's teacher about all this." Surely thats the first thing you would do. Despite what people's personal beliefs are kids should be taught to respect eachother. One thing i would also like to add is that Anti Zionism and Anti Semitism are closely related but two different things. I am neither, however I think that the Palestinians have a right to the land ATLEAST set out in resolution 242. But then again kids would not understand that unless it was explained to them in a comforting buffered way maybe by the teacher or little Juliet.
As for Judo lessons, you might aswell send her to Mossad i hear they have a really good training facilities

[Geraint]

I think it is inexcusable. I am not typically embroiled in this kind of argument. Kids will be kids is my normal stance: bullying is something every child has been a victim of, and most likely guilty of.

I am concerned at the rise in anti-semetic sentiment as a whole. When it manifests it self in this way it is even worse. Why a 9 year old girl should be subjected to hatred as a result of her spiritual home lands right to defend itself is what is a concern. She isn't involved, there is no evidence to suggest she has visited Israel or even attends Temple every Saturday. She is losing her innocence and that is whats wrong. On the whole most British Jews are not overtly ostentatious about ther beliefs, they do not preach about a zionist supremacy and a desire to dominate the world with their faith and a private and sincere people which is more than can be said about there biggest opponents in the arab world. I am not Jewish just a balanced observer

[Marco]

judo lessons? no, get the girl a fully-automatic rifle and a shoulder-mounted white phosphorous grenade launcher: zero-tolerance, the enemy must be annihilated.

[Hannah]

Clever commentary: it makes us all think about our own prejedices. The little girl who is being victimised obviously has no responsibility for the middle east situation. In the same way as the muslim girls have no responsibility for the palestinians.

I think we need to take out of the equation the jew/muslim debate and realise that the little girl is being bullied: end of story. I am a teacher, and I am bound to report any racist incidents to my school: as such, I would be bound to report this as such an incident, but my main concern would be to solve the bullying at the heart of the problem, and the miseducation that has, effectively caused this.

My fiance is Jewish and therefore, I have quite an advanced understanding of the Jewish perspective of the Jewish/Palestinian struggle. I personally find it very difficult to accept that either side are acting with no blame, although I am also empathetic to the fact that displaced Palestinians have had a hard time over the last 50 years. If I am struggling to get my head round the situation, surely little girls of 9 are not going to be able to reason sensibly about it. They are merely repeating what their community or parents have told them. It's too easy to simplify it as Jew vs Muslim, Israeli vs Palestinian, Hamas vs the Israeli Army, but it's so complicated I can't believe that 9 year olds have the faculties to deal with it.

This article is loaded with emotive connotations of discrimination and anti-semitism, and I wouldn't want to dismiss these out of hand, but as it is 9 year old girls (who obviously are repeating things they have heard from within their community), I would think it would be a prime opportunity to provide some impartial anti-bullying education as well as a little gentle discussion about racism and discrimination.

Difficult, yes, but genuinely, frighteningly, anti-semitic: I'm really not sure.

[Marco]

I don't mean to imply any responsibility of the girl or her mother, but surely after years of refusing to acknowlege a difference between Jews and Israeli Zionists (à la "you criticise the Israeli government's foreign policy ergo you are an anti-Semite racist") this is the crop of those seeds.

[Truculent Sheep]

Laura, do four things: tell the school, tell the LEA, tell the Council, tell your MP and enroll your daughter for Judo lessons.

[Ruth Ivory]

Why does it matter who was there first? Palestinians claim that they are the original inhabitants who just converted to Islam.
Surely this story just shows the cruelty of those who decide how they treat fellow human beings on the basis of random attributions of genes and religious/political alliegance.
On a more practical note, I also suggest that your friend talks to the teacher about this.

[NB]

"Jesus, get over it!! Does no-one else feel that this is just a case of kids being kids. Children can be pretty nasty and will pick on other kids and single out others for any difference they can find."

Sure Steve, that's one possible explanation, but how exactly do young children ever think of these type of comments? Shouldn't the parents of these bigots shoulder some responsibility for passing their despicable views down the generations?

[Chris]

We take to the streets and protest when innocent Muslim children are harmed by Israel, but when innocent Jewish children are harmed we shrug our shoulders and say "big deal."

The whole reason for the fighting in the Middle East is because the Muslims want everybody to be a Muslim, and they will not be happy until Israel doesn't exist. Throughout the Middle East anybody who is not a Muslim is treated like the black slaves were by us. This is a fact that we don't care about.

The vast majority of young Muslims in the UK said that they believe the Muslims who bombed London did the right thing, and that they also would consider doing the same, killing many innocent people on our doorstep. Our newspapers reported this and we don't care. If Jews had suggested they would kill us we would be up in arms, but when Muslims do anything aggressive we just say "Poor Muslims, they are so downtrodden, we must be politically correct and let them do whatever they like, we mustn't make them feel bad."

What a sick work we live in. WE are worse than any Jew or Muslim because our attitude is lawless, selfish, and cowardly. We in the UK should be protesting about ourselves, and bullying each other over the terrible things we allow to happen.

[Steve]

"Is this story true? Religion is a private thing and if the whole class knew her mother's faith"

I think this is based on the Jewish race, not Judaism. I know it's easy to confuse the two - that's the whole idea of having the same word for both. You can play the race card; you can play the religion card. As and when you see fit.

A vast majority of Jews support the actions of Israel, whatever those actions are. They should not be shy of facing criticism for this if it is what they truly believe.

But for 9 year old children to be on the giving and receiving end of such abuse is plain wrong. But Jews, Muslims and Christians alike love planting ideas into children's heads from an early age - that is how religion prospers, the indoctrination of the young.

[Chris Author]

The real Mr. Mond would be pleased with how well the Israel-Gaza situation has continued to feed into the usual divide and conquer among people. It has "affected" people as far away as Britain who have no personal dog in the fight --including re-shaping the minds of their little children who should be focusing on their schoolwork. The control and dumbing down continues without a missed step.

[Steve]

Jesus, get over it!! Does no-one else feel that this is just a case of kids being kids. Children can be pretty nasty and will pick on other kids and single out others for any difference they can find. I suspect nine year olds are hardly in a position to understand the political nature of what they are doing and have merely chosen the jew to pick on this week. I seem to remember that we used to pick on the 'paki' one week and when we got fed up of that we would move on to the fat kid or the speccy kid. At the time of the first gulf war it was the girl who had an iraqi father and before that the miners' kids picked on the coppers' kids. Stop looking for an issue that isn't there. There's no conspiracy against the jews. if you're genuinely concerned about the bullying then speak to the teachers but if you're not happy about doing that then stop complaining. Kids will always bully other kids, it doesn't last for long and doesn't do any real harm.

[Paola]

To "put the other side of the argument"?? George Galloway? For the sake of "fairness"?? Is Ruth Gledhill with her "fine piece" off her head or just in bad faith? To compare the thousands of Jews who through no choice of their own or political will were dumped into the Warsaw ghetto with a view to their later extermination to the Palestinians in Ghaza today who FREELY ELECTED HAMAS who persist in NOT EVEN RECOGNISING the right of Israel to EXIST and are OPENLY COMMITTED TO ITS ANNIHILATION is historically preposterous. Unfortunately those who will be anti-semites will not be swayed by reason or historical data. I don't think all the decisions taken by successive Israeli governments over the past decades have been good ones no more that I think all decisions made by France, or England or the US over the ptas decades have been. But the anger Israel faced not only from the Palestinians but from all their Arab brothers (who have since - and in spite of their fantastically large oil revenues which might have eased the situation - washed their hands of them) made peace an unlikely outcom. Let Hamas accept Israel's right to exist, let it and Hisbollah stop preaching murder and mayhem and Israel will again sit at the negociating table to work out with moderate Palestinians an honourable solution where, with international support and goodwill, both can live peacefully within secure borders gradually to build the trust which will alone secure a better future for the generations to come. As to hard-bitten anti-semites, you will no more convince them there is no Jewish conspirancy to rule the world than you will a fanatical creationist of the validity of Darwinian evolution. Tragic but true.

[Chris]

joeyjoejoe - you have hit the nail on the head but it goes against your argument:

Israel owned the land hundreds of years ago, but was kicked out by the Romans. Palestine never was a nation. I suggest studying Middle East history.

[Kim]

Yes, of course Juliette's mum is right to report it, because it is bullying. Kids will find lots of excuses to bully another child, unfortunately. The rights and wrongs of what is happening in Gaza is another issue, because a nine year old girl is not responsible for the actions of the Israeli government.

I don't even agree that it's "classic" anti-Semitism. Given that the state of Israel has only been around for about 60 years, blaming Jews for the wrongs of the government is actually a modern version of anti-Semitism.

[Ben]

Ruth, if you have a point to make, could you please make it?

It's more than likely that Muslim children were bullied after 9/11, it still doesn't make it right!

[Jeremy]

joeyjoejoe,
"imagine if that neighbour you are referring to was actually the rightful owner of the house you are living in and you kicked him out".

Just to refresh you memory, Jews have been living in the middle ease for 4000 years. Palastenians are a modern term, and Islam is a mere 1400 years old.

This little girl should not be the subject of Islamic anti-semitism becasue some of her classmates have the distorted veiw of history, just like yourself.

[Simon]

Should she talk to the teacher? Yes. If the teacher has the best interests of the children at heart, as I believe most teachers in the UK do, then this matter will be dealt with sensitively.

[Clive]

Get the school to confront the parents, a 9 year old is only repeating what they heard at home from a member of the family.

[Bill Bird]

'Truth is the first casualty of war' - so stop fighting...

[Glen Thomas]

So her daughter is obsessed with the daily news at 9-years-old?

A 9-year-old shouldn't be watching news programs aimed at adults - most of it is unsuitable for young children! They are too young to be trying to get their heads around what stupid adults do to each other all the time.

The more the girl knows the more she is likely to extend arguments at school - better to claim that she is (and be) ignorant of politics.

This is simply bullying a girl for being identifiably different: she could have been too fat or thin, too tall or short, wearing specs., be cleaver or stupid, come from a muslim, christian or hippy family, it makes little difference to a young kid.

Report it to the school and be done with it.

[Sue]

I was bullied because I was a soldiers daughter posted here from Germany. Kids are cruel. Most kids suffer bullying at some point or another. Most of the time any excuse will do. I don't think anti-semitism comes into it at this age. The words anti-semitism are used much too lightly these days.

[Hol]

Bullying is inexcusable. I'm sure even kids of this age know better than to blame someone living hundreds of miles away from the conflict as if she's personally responsible - especially Muslim kids who have most likely been on the receiving end of ignorant comments about Islamic extremism themselves. The Israel/Gaza conflict is merely being used as the latest excuse for behaviour as old as the hills that long outdates today's wars.

As someone who had her childhood made a misery by bullying, I strongly advise talking to her teachers and alerting them to this. Sitting on it really doesn't help - I hope it all gets resolved soon and your daughter can be left in peace

[ray smith]

If these stories are true, one must ask oneself WHY?
The actions by the Israelis does not help the situation, just look at their track record.
There has always been bullying at schools and those who take part will use any excuse to do same.
This treatment is the problem for the parents and headmaster to control.

[Simon]

Something that is being completely overlooked. This is from people inside Gaza: Palestinians say whole families are locked in their homes from which Hamas open fire. Some are booby-trapped to blow up Israeli invaders with those families.

After shedding their uniforms, Hamas operatives emerge from their bunkers to seize petrol stations and ambulances and grab most of the incoming food and medical aid carried in daily by hundreds of trucks from Israel and Egypt.

Their firing stations are often located in schools. One huge explosives and weapons arsenal was uncovered next door to Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Hamas terrorists force small children to accompany them on combat missions.

[joeyjoejoe]

Arthur-imagine if that neighbour you are referring to was actually the rightful owner of the house you are living in and you kicked him out- then the story has a different angle on it.

[Thomas]

This seems to be the usual "cry wolf" trick in order to divert attention from the revolting, disgusting, barbaric, inhuman, brutal actions committed by the Israeli armed forces. I can't stop thinking to those thousands of little Palestinian children that have been murdered in Gaza and elsewhere, no matter what the zionist propaganda tries to fake.

[Peter G]

Yiannis - so you too believe that a 9 year old girl in Britain is responsible for the actions of the Israeli government simply because she is Jewish?

And "denominations forces?" I hadn't realised it was the Jewish army versus the Muslim army.

[E Cooper]

To hurt anyone Jewish because of the actions of the state of Israel is wrong since they are not responsible and in fact many Jews oppose Israels policies, aside from this such actions do nothing to further the Palestinian cause on the contrary they only strenthen the Zionist notion that Jews are unsafe everywhere and the Israeli government is justified in its actions

[Rachel]

Making a nine year old girl responsible for the actions of the Israeli government is absurd. Her best response would be to make these bullies realize how ridiculous their accusations are. "What? Do you think I that I secretly fly to Israel every night to join an army unit?".

BTW: The scariest part about this post are some of the comments.

[Davidicus]

There's no excuse for bullying. Particularly no excuse for bullying because of a child's religion, race or ethnicity--no matter what any nation-state is doing. Muslim kids shouldn't be bullied for being Muslim. Jewish kids shouldn't be bullied for being Jewish. Go and complain to the school principal and if nothing happens, take the school administrators to court for discrimination--contact your local Jewish community organization if you have to to do this.

[Alex]

YIANNIS: "I would have reacted the same way if Muslim, Christian or any other denomination's forces were undertaking such atrocious military tactics"

This sentence suggests to me that you have absolutely no concept of this conflict, and would clearly love to view it as some kind of religious war. Let me explain - not all jews are Israeli. What has an english jew got to do with Israelis bombing Palestinians? Absolutely nothing. For this girl to be subjected to abuse is nothing but racism.

[Arthur]

Imagine that your next door neighbour (at home) decides that he has never liked you and the fact that you have different beliefs from him.

Each day he throws bricks at your windows, damaging things and injuring your family members and guests.

Each time it happens you call him and ask him to stop

He ignores you and chucks a few more bricks and starts shooting his air rifle at your kids in your garden

You call the police and he promises to stop (but doesn't)

Eventually after many weeks of this constant barrage of violence you tell him that if he doesn't stop attacking you home, you will come around to his house and remove all his bricks and take away his air-rifle.

He ignore you again and attacks your familiy members again and again with more ferocity than ever before.

Ask youself what you would do?

Most people I assume would want to go next door to ask him to stop and ideally would remove his stockpile of bricks and weapons ?

Now imagine that you are Israel and your neighbour is Hamas.......

....it may perhaps make you understand more why Israel has to defend itself against these attacks in the same way that you would defend yourself from your neighbour

[Luke]

Some of the comments on here are ridiculous. People who see nothing disturbing about this are as bad as the bullies.

Obviously there is no excuse for the disproportionate use of force Israel is using in retaliation to the rockets being fired by Hamas but this is an extremely complex situation which will never be solved quickly. Particularly when one side refuses to acknowledge the others right to even exist!

Give me a @#$%ing break. Stop firing bloody rockets you idiots. The international community is just waiting to pump money into a Palestinian state to sort them out but no (reasonable) country is going to back Hamas.

[Mark]

Surely Israel should be acting like a responsible grown up nation about this and not spend millions of shekel on destroying the fabric of the nation of Palestine and its people. They claim to have the moral majority and when questioned raise comparisons against past conflicts from whichever nation. Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland. I can comment with experience on only one of these conflicts, the only truly long term conflict in my list and the one that has had the most positive ending.
I lived in Northern Ireland in my younger days as the son of a British soldier. I can tell you the differences are vast. Britain invested huge sums of money to build an economy within Northern Ireland. People lived in housing no different to those in the UK, they held the same jobs, had the same high street stores, same education, health and access to local government. The only different I could see as a child was that we used coal fires instead of gas, armed police and military patrols, a few more military helicopters patrolling the sky and the frequent bomb scares that sometimes detonated.
If Israel was serious about a long term peace we would not have a nation in ruins at the mercy of international aid. Yes – The UK had bombs go off on the mainland and in Northern Ireland, many people died. But we didn’t send in a barrage of gunships, bombers and tanks to dissipate the population. Nor did we restrict commerce. We embraced the nation to build it into its own economy that supports itself. It is also true that in the past things had not been handled as well as we would have hoped, but we rose above it and looked at what could be instead of what was then.
We already know these tactics do not work; I can only surmise this is a calculated attack to demoralise a nation before a new world leader and an attempt to inflict as much damage as possible on a local race with no insight into its affect on the future. This is rich from a nation that endears itself on similar wrong doing done on them.

[Adrian]

So whats new?

Muslim kids get bullied whenever an Islamic group commits an atrocity. No religious sect, or indeed any group, has a monopoly on being idiots. Kids get picked on by their peers for being fat, having braces, being Indian, or just being smart.

Inform the school, let them deal with it. A little less of the histrionics from everyone please.

[Hasan]

This is bullying and it is anti-semitism. It would be the same if the young Muslim girls were to be associated with the actions of Islamic terrorists.

[Paul]

Gaza doesn't 'lead to bullying'. Antisemitic bullies are responsible for it.

[Mark Gladstone]

The most appalling thing resulting from a nasty situation is the preaching of hatred to nine-year old Muslim girls--or anyone--that would manifest itself in spewing that hatred by those nine-year olds who may not understand what they are doing.

[Paul]

The real Semites are the Palestinians.

[Dr Ruth Frank]

Could anyone tell me whether Children of Muslim parents were subjected to bullying in American schools after Sept 11?

[Yiannis]

"My daughter's on the receiving end of classic anti-semitism"

While Israel is bombing UN schools and other civilian targets killing hundreds of innocent civilians- with no or minimal international backslash, the little girl's mother claims that it is the rest of the world being, supposedly, anti-semitic

I would have reacted the same way if Muslim, Christian or any other denomination's forces were undertaking such atrocious military tactics

[lisa]

Jewish children have been beaten up because of Gaza.

But let me ask you this... have you ever once heard of a Jew in Europe or America beating up a Muslim because of the rockets fired by Hezbollah and Hamas? No?

What does that say about the difference in the two groups?

[Daveyd]

James, what a really weird thing to say. Some jewish people wear stars of david or skullcaps (like christians wear crosses, and some moslems wear headscarves) so it's obvious what religion they are. and although you say your son might not tell others he's a Catholic, he might. you don't know what children talk about at school. maybe it's obvious a child is jewish because they stay off school for jewish holidays or don't celebrate christmas. it wouldn't be hard for other children to find out. there may be few jews where you live, but there are lots in London (not that I mind!) and on another note, you say jews are murdering others. what about the others murdering jews, or at least trying to? that's why this all started isn't it, this time? all those rockets were being fired into israel

[james]

what a silly article to publish when women and children are being murdered by Israel. There are few jews in the uk, actually significantly less than the population of Staines per the last census. i would not know one if I saw one. Why would anyone find out that someone was a jew, even if they wanted to bully them (which I dont). My son does not go to school and announce he is a catholic or that his mothers parents are immigrants so why would a jew child!!!

[MJTValfather]

Just because muslims see themselves (and are seen by the Left) as poor victims doesn't mean they have the right to subject anyone to racist attacks or bring the conflicts of their own countries onto the streets of this country. This behaviour must be crushed with utmost severity. For those (and it will be, I hope, a small minority) muslims don't like it, there are plenty of countries in the muslim world where I am sure they will be welcomed with open arms.

[Tim]

Islam is the bully. It forces its self on society. Its very tenets of faith is to see create fear and tensions in everyone else.

[Jane]

I am sure that this story is true as something very similar has happened to my child in her school. To say religion is a private thing is ridiculous - the girl who has been making comments to my child wears a headscarf and is very open about her religious affiliation to Islam. I think that Jan's comment saying that this is all made up is a way of devaluing what is being said by implying that such situations do not take palce. They can and they do. Her next comment will no doubt be that it is all a Zionist Conspiracy.

[Jan]

Is this story true? Religion is a private thing and if the whole class knew her mother's faith, then a teacher must have informed them based on confidential information and should be disciplined. The mother meanwhile should instruct her daughter to tell her tormentors that not all Jews support Israel or its actions. I suspect though that this story is made up for political reasons.

[Victoria Westcott]

Great article Sarah! Thanks for sharing this story today. I have passed it along to readers on my blog as well.

To answer your question, Yes. Laura should tell her teacher. To go through this alone & at home is not right. The class could deal with the issue together and she's likely not the only one being bullied for the same reason.

[Mrs.Jose]

Bullying at any place to be dealt seriously. Especially with a little girl who hardly knows who is doing what? In common places like School, Hospital,etc

The School must take action.

[Ros Morris]

I watched, on Teachers TV, a programme called 'Two Schools in Nablus'. It was made by Al Jazeera and there was no context given at all to any of the events that happened during the programme. It was 'suffering Palestinians' and 'brutal Israelis.' If this is what children in this country are taught, added with the overt anti-Israel bias in the media, then it's not surprising that Jewish children will be given a hard time at schools here. It is up to teachers to show both sides of the story but I doubt that this is happening.

[John Gregory Flinn]

"...even though Juliette is becoming increasingly upset."

Why is Juliette upset?
If it's the bullying then that might be a reason to report it.
Otherwise, c'est la vie!