RUTHFULLY YOURS

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – A game with anti-Semitic elements played by dozens of high school students was offensive but isn’t illegal, officials say.

The game, called “Beat the Jew,” has caused “extreme disappointment,” but the 40 students involved can’t be punished because it happened off school property, La Quinta High Principal Donna Salazar said Wednesday.

Some people said something more should be done to teach tolerance.

“We only have three weeks until there’s not much you can do about it,” said the 18-year-old La Quinta High student who alerted officials to the game and Facebook page promoting it. She has asked to remain anonymous and is staying home from school out of fear of retribution.

“Some of these kids that have joined the group, they’re like the cream of the crop of my class,” she said. “They’re going to be the leaders of our future and they feel this way?”

The chase game involved a runner – called a “Jew” – and groups of people chasing in cars – “Nazis.”

“The objective for the Jew is to run down Hwy. 111 to a specified checkpoint before the Nazis can catch up to him, tackle him down and capture him,” according to a Facebook page that was taken down Friday.

“I’m profoundly disappointed and very surprised that our students don’t think or didn’t realize that this was offensive and insensitive and not acceptable,” Salazar said.

School administrators learned of the game from the student and her parent.

School officials said they spoke with the students and asked them to take down the page, but no crime was committed and they cannot punish students for actions that happened outside of school.

“They claimed that this was just a game and it really has nothing to do with targeting Jewish people,” Salazar said. “I’m surprised that they don’t see that when you start using these labels that it’s offensive.”

Although the game is insensitive, La Quinta police Lt. Jason Huskey said that if all players are willing participants, the game likely isn’t criminal.

“(It’s) their freedom of speech; there’s not much we can do except be disappointed,” Desert Sands Unified School District Superintendent Sharon McGehee said, adding that many of the students apologized.

“There was no threat (made); there was no crime. They just played a game that had an ugly, insensitive, stupid name, so there is no crime.”

It was unclear if students from other schools also played.

Rabbi Avi Levine of Temple Sinai said the school should take students to the Tolerance Education Center in Palm Desert or a Holocaust museum in Los Angeles.

“Just because it’s not on (school) property, they are your students, and if they’re acting in a way that’s contrary to tolerance, they should be educated,” Levine said. “It’s not going to stop just because a kid says, Oh, I’m sorry.’ “

La Quinta High students are well educated on the Holocaust and its impact, Salazar said.

Next year, the school may add more counseling on tolerance and respect, she said.

“I think you can’t do too much,” Salazar said.

Much of the game was communicated through social networking pages such as Facebook and MySpace – another reason parents need to keep a close eye on what their children are doing online, La Quinta High parent Darlene Nelson said Wednesday.

“I think it’s a wake-up call to parents to stay in tune with what their kids are doing,” she said.

Some students expressed disappointment and anger in those who played or joked about the game.

“I’m ashamed by the kids that did that,” sophomore Josh Orr said.

“It’s not right at all,” junior Makel Cunningham said, adding that it has tarnished the school’s reputation. “Now we’re going to be known for Beat the Jew.’ “

The student who blew the whistle says she has received more negative reaction than positive to her decision.

She still plans to attend graduation next month and hopes someone will speak on tolerance during the ceremony.

“None of this is funny whatsoever. … It’s just disgusting,” she said. “Where are people’s humanity?”