Education takes centre stage at Royal Commission

The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion heard a day of evidence last Thursday centred on education, with Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal revealing a new national centre to deliver antisemitism training and a UNESCO school program set to expand to 200 schools nationally.

Segal told the commission a standalone National Centre for Education Against Antisemitism had been incorporated with an independent board co-chaired by Jennifer Westacott and Catherine Fritz-Kalish to deliver training across government, business and law enforcement.

“How do we capture the hearts and minds of good people to understand what antisemitism is, and that there should be an independent organisation that does that,” Segal said.

She detailed the expansion of a UNESCO-developed antisemitism education pilot from 20 public secondary schools in New South Wales and Victoria to 200 schools nationally, backed by federal government funding.

The rollout begins in Western Australia from August, with Catholic, independent and Islamic schools also set to participate.