A child at a Sydney public school “celebrated” the death of the victims of the Bondi terror attack during class, among 100 incidents of antisemitism at NSW schools since the start of 2024.
The student from Granville South Public School celebrating the deaths of 15 innocent people in Australia’s worst terror attack was reported to the Department of Education’s incident hotline, NSW budget estimates heard on Wednesday.
“That’s obviously disgusting,” Deputy Premier and Education Minister Prue Car told budget estimates on Wednesday.
Budget estimates did not hear details, but a source with knowledge of the incident who was not authorised to speak publicly said it involved one child in year 3, who was sent to the principal’s office and their parents were called.
In a statement, the Department of Education said claims made during estimates that the incident involved multiple students at Granville South Public School “are false”.
“We reject all forms of religious discrimination and racism in our schools.”
Since the beginning of 2024, schools – both public and others – have seen at least 100 incidences of antisemitism according to submissions by the Jewish Board of Deputies.
Asked if she knew of any students who had been disciplined over antisemitic behaviour, Car said she did not.
“I’m not operationally across every student who is suspended or expelled,” she said.
NSW Department of Education secretary Murat Dizdar said: “I imagine the school would have taken appropriate disciplinary action.”
He took on notice a question about exactly what disciplinary action occurred.
The incident was raised by independent Sydney MLC Tania Mihailuk, who told budget estimates that there were reports of “at least 100 antisemitic incidences across our schools”.
Discrimination based on sex, race, gender and other grounds was a “very strong” ground for behavioural concerns that could lead to disciplinary action, Dizdar said.
He did not answer questions about how many incidents of antisemitism had been reported to the public school hotline, saying that information was released annually through the department’s incident logs.
Asked how many teachers had their accreditation revoked for antisemitic incidents, Car said: “I would have to take that on notice, but if the committee is expecting there to be a huge number, I think they’ll be disappointed.”
Teacher accreditation is managed by the NSW Education Standards Authority, not the Department of Education, she said.
After the Herald revealed last week that the department had been forced to settle with a Sydney student of Palestinian heritage who was banned from his school formal because he was wearing a keffiyeh, Car said that decisions on whether non-Palestinian students or staff could wear the garment would be made by individual principals.
“Look, principals and teachers know their communities very well, and I have every faith that principals and teachers will be able to manage those specific questions on a school-by-school basis.”
Wearing the keffiyeh on “days of celebration” like the forthcoming Harmony Day was not a breach of the code of conduct and ethics, which prohibits staff from participating in private political activities while at school or on duty, Car said.
“On days or celebrations, where it is appropriate to celebrate the culture, the keffiyeh is not a breach of the code. That is maybe an appropriate thing to do, like it may be appropriate for a Korean student to wear a hanbok on that day.”
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CLARIFICATION
An earlier version of this story said multiple students celebrated the death of the Bondi terror attack victims, based on claims made at a budget estimates hearing. It has been updated to say the incident involved a single student, following further information from the Department of Education.