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<\/p>\nStudents at a New South Wales public school competed to be crowned “king of the Jews” in a game they created to trip up their Jewish peers, the royal commission on antisemitism has heard.<\/p>\n
Antisemitism in schools and against young people has been a key focus of the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.<\/p>\n
The inquiry on Thursday heard from NSW Board of Jewish Education (BJE) CEO John Hamey.<\/p>\n
Mr Hamey said parents of Jewish-Australian students often reported instances of antisemitism to the BJE, with one incident involving a game called “trip the Jew” being played at a NSW public school.<\/p>\n
He said students would score points if the Jewish student fell, and whoever had the most points at the end of the day was “crowned the king of the Jews”.<\/p>\n
Mr Hamey, who is Catholic and not Jewish, spoke of another incident where he observed a teacher at a NSW public school using a laptop decorated with a “free Palestine” sticker which included a crossed-out image of the Israeli flag and Star of David.<\/p>\n
“They said to me that they were proud to be anti-Israeli,” he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Hamey, who was the principal of Jewish day school Moriah College from 2011 to 2018, said he told the teacher they were “creating a hostile environment for students that were Jewish in that classroom context”.<\/p>\n
“She was not fulfilling her responsibility to be non-partisan and apolitical in the classroom,” he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Hamey said there must be “better systems to respond to hate speech” in schools.<\/p>\n
“There needs to be a clear reporting of instances of antisemitism and hate speech in schools, and that can take place within existing frameworks,” he said.<\/p>\n
“There needs to be a much more formalised system so we understand the degree and extent and reach of antisemitism in our public schools.”<\/p>\n
New training organisation set up<\/p>\n
Jillian Segal appeared at the inquiry for a third time. (ABC News)<\/p>\n
Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal appeared at the inquiry for a third time.<\/p>\n
Ms Segal gave a number of anecdotal examples of antisemitism in classrooms, including an alleged incident where students discharged cans of deodorant as if it was gas from gas chambers used during the Holocaust.<\/p>\n
“I was very upset to hear of one student who had been accosted in a corridor and had his head pushed into an enclosed area and sprayed with deodorant as if it was gas from the chambers,” Ms Segal said.<\/p>\n
“It was sort of upsetting and chilling that young people should behave in this way.”<\/p>\n
She said there were also reports of chairs and tables being arranged in the shape of swastikas.<\/p>\n
Ms Seagal said an independent organisation had been established to provide educational training aimed at combating antisemitism.<\/p>\n
The National Centre for Education Against Antisemitism (NCEAA) will deliver training and educational material to a range of organisations across government, schools and the not-for-profit and business sectors.<\/p>\n
The body is understood to operate independently of both the government and the special envoy’s office.<\/p>\n
Ms Segal told the inquiry Jennifer Westacott, chancellor of Western Sydney University, and business leader Catherine Fritz-Kalish had been appointed as co-chairs of the organisation.<\/p>\n
The centre was proposed by the special envoy and has been in development over the past few months.<\/p>\n
‘You can’t legislate against people having hatred’<\/p>\n
The commission also heard from a Jewish South Australian man known as Paul, who sits on the Jewish Community Council of South Australia.<\/p>\n
Paul said Adelaide had a proportionally small community of about 1,400 Jewish Australians, with many the only Jewish person at their school or workplace.<\/p>\n
He said education was key to change the attitudes of people who may have never met or engaged with members of the Jewish community.<\/p>\n
“You can’t legislate against people having hatred,” he said.<\/p>\n
“You can’t force a community to embrace the Jewish community by legislating that they must.<\/p>\n
“By educating people we can hopefully start to change societal views.”<\/p>\n
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The Sydney hearings of the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion are being held under tight security. (AAP: Dean Lewis)<\/p>\n
Paul said education programs should include historic examples of Jew hatred, modern day iterations as well as examples of how the Jewish community contributed to Australian society.<\/p>\n