Anti-racism contact officers and better Holocaust education are at the centre of a move to stamp out anti-Semitic and faith-based bullying after a series of disturbing incidents.
Every NSW public school will have access to a trained anti-racism contact officer and best-practice teaching of the Holocaust under a “historic” new agreement set to stamp out anti-Semitic and faith-based bullying.
The 10-year partnership between a re-elected Perrottet government and the state’s religious communities would also establish better reporting portals for student, parents and teachers to report incidents, as well as professional training for teachers to promote student wellbeing when managing religious discrimination.
It comes after disturbing reports of rising anti-Semitism at schools across the state in recent months, including Cranbrook, Knox Grammar School, Rose Bay Secondary College and a Northern Rivers high school.
In September a video emerged of a student at Sydney’s prestigious Cranbrook School smiling while giving a Nazi salute to the camera, while Knox Grammar students were caught making pro-Hitler comments in a chatroom on the Discord app, which also featured examples of anti-Semitic, racist, sexist and homophobic language.
Education minister Sarah Mitchell said a proposed Memorandum of Understanding would bring the Department of Education, Multicultural NSW and the Religious Communities Advisory Council together to create a unified approach to end racism, religious intolerance and discrimination against students and teachers.