Calls for greater antisemitism education

Jillian Segal, Executive Council of Australian Jewry president

The decision will stand as a warning to any students who engage in antisemitic bullying, and to parents, teachers and Education Departments across Australia who fail to act responsibly to curb and prevent such behaviour that they will be held to account for their actions.

With meagre resources, they took on the might of the Victorian government and Education Department to stand up for truth and justice, and they were successful. We know the personal price all of them have paid in sweat and nerves, and the enormous financial sacrifice they have made.

The time has come for a national antisemitism education program across Australian schools to provide resources and support to teachers and parents to understand and defeat this form of hatred. Bland, generic statements against racism are not enough.

This case has sent a clear signal that the cost of continuing inaction by governments in dealing appropriately with racism will be far higher than the cost of taking effective action.

Colin Rubenstein, Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council executive director

The five students who launched this, along with their families, deserve both admiration and thanks for the important results they have achieved.

What was particularly telling about the verdict was that it made it clear that Jewish students at Brighton Secondary College were treated differently compared to other minority groups when they reported bigotry and racial abuse.

We hope that this verdict will contribute to greater public awareness of the issue of antisemitic bullying in schools across Australia – and the responsibility of teachers, school administrators and state Departments of Education to do more to combat this serious problem.

Mere statements and toothless policies condemning such racist bullying are not enough. AIJAC hopes that this verdict will spur the Victorian Department of Education – along with its counterparts in all Australian states – to urgently develop new best-practice programs to deal with antisemitism in schools, and then implement them in a concerted and consistent manner as a high priority.

Yossi Goldfarb, Zionism Victoria president

We welcome the verdict but believe too much emphasis is placed on tackling antisemitism after the horse has bolted. Punishing the perpetrators does little to diminish the ignorance or prejudice that allow offensive or hateful sentiments to flourish. What is required is education and familiarisation to counter misinformation, disinformation, stereotypes, bias and bigotry before they take hold. That is why initiatives, such as Zionism Victoria’s Jakob Frenkiel Connecting Cultures program, that promote tolerance, respect and understanding among young Victorians are so critical in the fight against antisemitism.

David Southwick, Member for Caulfield

The verdict is a damning indictment of antisemitism in the Victorian education system, and a vindication of the young men who spoke out against it. The Victorian education system has completely failed to protect students from antisemitic hate and abuse.

I commend Liam, Joel, Matt, Guy, Zack and their families for having the bravery to stand up and fight against a government and education bureaucracy that simply would not listen.

At the very beginning of this saga, then education minister, James Merlino said that antisemitism “will not be tolerated” and that the Victorian government “simply must get to the bottom of what has occurred”. In the end, all they did was fight families in court. The Andrews government needs to accept responsibility for the rise of antisemitism in public schools and start doing something to fix it.

Josh Burns, Member for Macnamara

The judgment clearly demonstrated that young Jewish students were targeted and were faced with bigotry and antisemitism. This should not have happened. The students, their families and the legal team courageously took on the Department of Education, and their efforts will mean that students in the future and not faced with the same hatred and discrimination.

I will be working to ensure incidents like this never happen again.

Zoe Daniel, Member for Goldstein

Antisemitism has no place in Australian society, especially not in our schools. I hope the students involved and their families can now begin to move forward from this disgraceful episode.

Sue Hampel, Melbourne Holocaust Museum co-president

I welcome the decision – racial discrimination and antisemitic bullying should never be tolerated, especially in schools.

Jayne Josem, Melbourne Holocaust Museum CEO

The verdict highlights the responsibility of leadership to act swiftly when these acts are presented.

We will continue our work training teachers and working with schools to be part of the solution, supporting them to be better equipped to deal with antisemitism when it happens in their midst.