Push to include Bondi massacre in school curriculum

A campaign is underway to fast-track teaching about the Bondi Beach terror attack in Australian schools, with Jewish leaders and education experts backing plans to include it in both primary and secondary curricula as a lesson in where antisemitism leads.

According to a report in The Sunday Telegraph, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) co-CEO Alex Ryvchin is among those supporting the push, arguing the attack that killed 15 people offers a powerful case study for students.

“Bondi really provides an excellent examination of not only where antisemitism leads and the fact antisemitism didn’t end with the Holocaust, but that it continues to the present day,” Ryvchin said.

“That’s one of the great lessons of the Holocaust – you see how it begins with laws and dehumanisation and trying to drive a wedge between Jews and non-Jews. In the road to the Bondi massacre, we see that same sequence where warning signs were ignored, where people wouldn’t listen.

“You had this very clear progression from chanted threats to those threats being carried out.”

The father of the attack’s youngest victim, 10-year-old Matilda Britvan, has also thrown his support behind the proposal. Michael Britvan said that while December 14 was “a deeply sad and grievous event, it is now part of Australia’s history”.

“We do believe that education plays an important role in helping future generations understand where hatred and extremism can lead,” Britvan said. “If taught with care and balance, in a way that is appropriate for young people, it can help build awareness, empathy, and a stronger sense of responsibility toward one another.”

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare confirmed the Antisemitism Education Taskforce, chaired by David Gonski, is currently reviewing the curriculum to consider including the Bondi attack as part of broader lessons on antisemitism and social cohesion.

“We tell our kids that there’s no such thing as monsters, but that’s a lie,” Clare said.

“Bondi taught us that it’s not just monsters that we have to fear, it’s the acceptance that some people are treated differently to others.”

NSW education minister Prue Car said her government was working with the Commonwealth’s Antisemitism Education Taskforce, including developing a UNESCO training program for teachers and school leaders.