Shane Desiatnik: Antisemitic bullying in Melbourne state schools

Two serious cases of anti-Semitic bullying in Melbourne schools were revealed by the Australian Jewish News. In the first case, a five-year-old was subjected to anti-Semitic bullying over the course of four months by five classmates in the school bathrooms. The bullying reportedly included being called “Jewish vermin”, “the dirty Jew” and a “Jewish cockroach”. In the second incident a 12-year-old student was forced to kiss the feet of a Muslim child and subjected to beatings and harassment. His mother, who spoke to the Jewish News on the condition of anonymity, said her son was invited to the park for a football game by a classmate from Cheltenham Secondary College.When he arrived at the park he was forced to kiss the shoes of a Muslim child and the incident was filmed and posted on social media. The bullying continued for months with the student labelled with anti-Semitic slurs and assaulted at school. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says he is deeply concerned about a rise in antisemitism in schools, urging more history lessons about the Holocaust to prevent it.

Source: SBS