I am not Jewish, but was shocked, saddened and ashamed to read in The Sunday Age (″Jewish pupils assailed with antisemitism in schools″, 16/7) of the appalling behaviour in some of our public schools towards Jewish students. To think some young people are bullied and abused due to their religious beliefs, to the point of being too frightened to go to school and ultimately being removed from the school to protect their mental and emotional health, beggars belief.
It’s all very well for the schools and the Education Department to state they take these incidents seriously, but the steps taken appear to have been ineffective in ensuring the Jewish students felt safe enough to continue at the schools. What steps were taken to ensure the bullies were taught that this is totally unacceptable behaviour and take responsibility for their actions? What steps were taken to educate these students on the damage they have inflicted on innocent kids?
Parents of the perpetrators should also be held to account for their children’s cruelty and lack of compassion. Society desperately needs decent, well-rounded students coming from our education system to lead in the future.
Letter from Maggie Matheson, Beaumaris in The Age.