An eastern suburbs high school will make a visit to a Holocaust museum mandatory following calls for greater action from schools facing accusations of anti-Semitic behaviour.
An eastern suburbs high school will make a visit to a Holocaust museum mandatory for older students in response to a wave of shocking allegations of anti-Semitism in students in recent weeks.
The NSW Department of Education has confirmed students from Years 10 to 12 at Rose Bay Secondary College will visit the Sydney Jewish Museum as part of the History curriculum from 2023, to “allow for supported and contextual discussions with students”.
The response follows a rise of anti-Semitism in Sydney schools.
An online chatroom used by Knox Grammar students on messaging app Discord included anti-Semitic comments, including “Hitler is always stay in my heart”.
Rose Bay Secondary College told parents in an email sent this week it was collaborating with the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies to improve its handling of incidents of anti-Semitism.
“We reject all forms of racism. Rose Bay Secondary College has taken immediate steps to address racist or anti-Semitic behaviour and to provide counselling for students impacted by this behaviour through its anti-racism contact officer and wellbeing team,” an Education Department spokeswoman said.
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies CEO Darren Bark said in a newsletter sent on Wednesday it would be working more closely with schools, the state government and the NSW Education Department as a result of the rise in anti-Semitic sentiment.
Read the article by Bianca Healey in The Daily Telegraph.