A group of boys have won a landmark case after suing their former principal, two teachers and the Victorian government for failing to protect them from anti-Semitic bullying, including bashings and swastika graffiti.
A determined group of young Jewish boys have won their marathon legal battle against the Victorian government, with taxpayers to fork out more than $430,000 in compensation.
Brothers Joel and Matt Kaplan, Liam Arnold-Levy, Guy Cohen and Zack Snelling sued the Victorian government, Brighton Secondary College principal Richard Minack and two teachers over claims that included failing in their duty of care and of systemic racial bullying between 2013 to 2020.
During the seven-week trial, Mr Arnold-Levy alleged he was bashed, spat at, called a “f — king Jew”, told to “die in an oven”, had “Heil Hitler” drawn on his locker and held at knifepoint.
In the Federal Court on Thursday, family, friends and supporters of the boys erupted in applause as Chief Justice Debra Mortimer found Mr Minack had failed in his duty to protect the students.
The court found, “unlike other vulnerable minority student groups”, no adequate steps were taken by Mr Minack to address how other students were treating the Jewish students.
Justice Mortimer said the school had a “different and less favourable approach” to dealing with bullying claims brought by Jewish students, and “inexplicable and unusual tolerance for anti Semitic graffiti”.
Justice Mortimer ordered that the education department to pay damages to each applicant, including $63,780 to Joel Kaplan, $60,000 to Matt Kaplan, $55,000 to Mr Cohen, $244,968.31 to Mr Snelling and $11,532.43 to Mr Arnold-Levy.
Read the article by Carly Douglas in the Herald Sun.