Jewish students targeted in museum incident 

Jewish students from Mount Scopus Memorial College were targeted with antisemitic chanting during a Year 5 excursion to the Melbourne Museum on Thursday.

High school students from another school, identified as Gladstone Park Secondary College in Melbourne’s north west, chanted “free, free, Palestine” at the Mount Scopus group while both schools were working in the same museum area.

The college’s group leader immediately confronted the senior school educators with the Gladstone Park group to address their students’ behaviour, and Mount Scopus students were moved away from the other group.

In a letter to parents, Mount Scopus confirmed the college will follow up with the other school’s principal regarding the incident.

“Upon returning to the college, we conducted a wellbeing check on all students to ensure they felt safe and supported,” the letter stated.

Parents concerned about the incident were encouraged to contact the college’s psychologists or senior staff.

One parent went public on social media to say his 10 year old son was called a “dirty Jew” during the incident.

“They were tapped on the shoulder and then chanted at by these 16 and 17 year old students ‘free Palestine’ and then, as they walked away, were called “dirty Jews” and other racist comments.”

The parent said, “This is not a political debate; this is pure, unadulterated anti-Semitism and hate.”

Museums Victoria has issued a statement stating the racism, discrimination, and hatred have no place in their Museums and the organisation is deeply sorry that this incident has occurred at one of their venues.

“We have contacted the parties involved and appreciate they are handling this matter privately and respectfully. Museums Victoria is committed to creating an accessible, inclusive, and safe environment for all members of the community regardless of cultural background”, the statement said.

Jewish Community Council of Victoria CEO Naomi Levin said the JCCV was contacted by parents of students on the excursion and had alerted the Victorian Department of Education about the incident.

“The JCCV was contacted by parents of students on the excursion. We have alerted the Victorian Department of Education about the incident and encouraged Departmental officials to follow up with Mount Scopus,” Levin said.

“The JCCV will continue to work with the Department of Education to facilitate more opportunities for Victorian students to visit the Jewish Museum of Australia, the Melbourne Holocaust Museum and participate in Courage to Care programs. We need to educate against antisemitism.”

Zionist Federation of Australia CEO Alon Cassuto said this isn’t an abstract issue, this is his children’s school.

“Ten-year-olds, on an innocent excursion, were harassed, targeted not for what they did, but for who they are. That any child in Melbourne should be held accountable for events overseas is not just absurd. It is dangerous”.

Cassuto said this speaks to a deeper sickness, “where Jewish identity becomes a provocation and racism is excused as activism”.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry chief executive Alex Ryvchin said the students from the other high school have brought “disgrace to themselves, their school and their country”.

“Where would Australian high school students learn this behaviour? Form the belief that it is OK, even righteous to see a Jewish symbol on the uniforms of 8 and 9 year olds and subject them to chants about Palestine?”

Ryvchin said, “It comes from a certain moral collapse brought about by nearly two years of normalised abuse and violence, where anyone who holds an opposing view on the war is a Nazi and a baby-killer, where anything down to Jews living peacefully on the other side of the world is justified, or if impossible to defend, it’s a false flag.”

Dr Colin Rubenstein, Executive Director of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Public Affairs Committee said, the horrifying incident  is yet another sign of how the antisemitism crisis in Australia generally, including in Victoria, continues to threaten the country

“The fact that high school students thought it was appropriate to target a group of ten year olds because they had a Jewish symbol  on their uniform is a shocking manifestation of how antisemitism is becoming normal and mainstream,” he said.

Rubenstein said this incident should be yet another wake up call for our political leaders, “inducing them to move faster and with more urgency in addressing this spiralling  crisis  – with threatens our national harmony more broadly, as well as the Jewish community specifically”.

He said first and foremost, this should include moving to rapidly and vigorously implement the recommendations of the Antisemitism Envoy the Federal Government appointed.

David Southwick, Member for Caulfield, said, “It is utterly disgraceful that Jewish children on a school excursion were targeted with political chants. Those responsible must be held accountable. Our museums should be places of learning and respect not arenas for intimidation and hate”