A BULLY victim who was subjected to hateful taunts because of his religion and sexuality is reaching out to young people in a bid to stamp out prejudice.

 

Ben Freeman, from Glasgow, has already worked with thousands of pupils across secondary schools in Scotland through his charity, From Yesterday For Tomorrow (FYFT).

Ben, 28, started the charity around two years ago after a "life-changing" trip with a friend to concentration camps across Europe.

They began a blog and filmed the trip - and later decided to turn the footage into an educational film.

Since they received charitable status in August 2013 the group has grown to have 10 trustees and four young volunteers.

Ben said his aim was to educate young people on all kinds of hate crime and prejudice, not just antisemitism.

He said he was bullied because he is Jewish, and because he is gay, while growing up.

He said: "I've experienced anti-Semitism, be it people at school, or people in the street.

"I've had people say things to me like: 'Don't be such a dirty Jew.'

"People sometimes claim it's banter but there seems to be an undertone.

"There seems to be a lot of accusations made against Jewish people."

Ben said he had been shouted at in the street because he is gay.

He said: "I've been called 'poof', I've been called 'bent' when I've been walking with boyfriends holding hands. People think being gay is a joke.

"Things have changed since I was at school. Homosexuality wasn't talked about at all.

"But more needs to be done and it's important to address it."

FYFT, which recently launched their second film on the persecution of gay men by the Nazis, has worked with schools including Whitehill Secondary, Bannerman High and Glasgow Academy, as well as in America.

They use a model called the story of prejudice, and hold discussions on different issues.

Ben said: "People are endlessly fascinated by the holocaust, but our take is very interesting because we're talking about lessons of the holocaust.

"We don't just talk about the holocaust, we bring in racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and sexism.

"Students are very engaged, we are not teachers so it's different.

"We've only been working with schools since last January, but by June of this year we will have worked with 4500 students."

As the Evening Times has reported, Jewish leaders have logged a rise in anti-Semitic attacks in the last year.

Last month Paul Morron, President of the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council, said there had been more than 30 incidents of abuse - an "unprecedented" number in the last six months.

The Jewish community is on alert following terror attacks, including kosher supermarket in Paris earlier this month, where four people were killed.

Ben said he had noticed the increase in anti-Semitism and said it was worrying.

He said: "During the summer there were hashtags trending on Twitter which said: 'Hitler was right, kill the Jews.'

"I feel that anti-Semitism is one of the only prejudices that people are happy to deny exists.

"It's really frightening. My parents shop at kosher supermarket, I occasionally go in, could it (a terror attack) happen here?"

Ben hopes his project can be rolled out to all pupils in Scotland.

He said: "Every school has to be talking about prejudice.

"How can you ask people not be anti-Semitic but not address Islamophobia, racism and sexism at the same time? It's not about Jewish people, black people or gay people, it's about people.

"It's important to talk about all of them. I want to be an ambassador for the Jewish community as well as for Scotland."

FYFT recently received backing from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at events to commemorate National Holocaust Memorial Day.

Ms Sturgeon said: "Ben Freeman's organisation - From Yesterday For Tomorrow - does a huge amount to encourage and empower young people to challenge discrimination."