Federal Education Minister Jason Clare “stands ready” to reform the school curriculum so children are taught more about antisemitism, declaring there was a role for teachers in educating young people about the “poison” of bigotry towards Jews. Source: The Australian.
As the Victorian Government set up an “anti-hate” taskforce following a string of attacks against Jews in Melbourne at the weekend, Mr Clare said he was willing to back changes to the school curriculum if they were recommended by the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal.
Mr Clare’s comments come as Ms Segal and former prime minister Tony Abbott called for a crackdown on anti-Israel protests and former Department of Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo called for an Operation Sovereign Borders-style taskforce to prevent terror attacks against Jews.
Mr Abbott accused Labor of failing to take antisemitism seriously enough after the October 7, 2023, terror attack in Israel.
The West Australian Government yesterday backed a fresh national cabinet meeting on antisemitism, although the need for this was played down by the NSW Government.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan left the door open to backing a national cabinet meeting while Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said “state governments must stand shoulder to shoulder with the Commonwealth against antisemitism”.
With the peak Jewish body calling for antisemitism to be part of the national curriculum as part of a 15-point plan to tackle the issue, Mr Clare said “Holocaust education is part of the Australian curriculum”.
“It’s only by learning the lessons of the Holocaust that we can ensure it never happens again,” he said.
Mr Clare said the Government was also providing funding to expand social cohesion programs in schools while establishing the National Holocaust Education Centre in Canberra.
He acknowledged, however, that there was more to be done.
“There is no place for the poison of antisemitism in our community, and our schools play an important role in educating young people about antisemitism and racism more broadly,” Mr Clare said.
“There is always more that can be done, and the Government stands ready to work with the Special Envoy to Combat antisemitism on further reforms here.”
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Labor eyes school focus on antisemitism (By Greg Brown and Noah Yim, The Australian)
