Prominent Jewish leaders have described NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet as a staunch supporter of their community despite revelations he wore a Nazi costume to his 21st birthday, but warn the incident is a stark reminder of the need to educate young people about the horrors of the Holocaust.
Perrottet told the media on Thursday he was “deeply ashamed” about wearing the costume almost two decades ago, apologising for what he described as a grave mistake.
A joint statement issued by NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Darren Bark and president David Ossip said they appreciated that the premier “personally reached out to the Jewish community to express his deep and sincere regret about his poor choice of costume as a young man”.
Bark said the incident highlighted the critical importance of Holocaust education, particularly in schools and universities.
“This incident, no matter how old, is a reminder of the need to continually educate all Australians – and particularly our youth – about the abhorrent nature of the Nazi regime and the evil perpetrated in service of the Nazi ideology,” Ossip and Bark said.
“Nazi symbolism is not to be taken lightly and dressing as a Nazi is not a joke. It disrespects the millions of innocent civilians who were murdered during World War II, including six million Jews and thousands of Australian Diggers who died fighting against the Nazis.”
Read the article by Lucy Carroll in The Sydney Morning Herald.