The Victorian Liberal Nationals are deeply concerned to learn of serious anti-Semitic incidents that are believed to have occurred in Victorian state schools.
As reported this morning in the Australian Jewish News, a five-year-old Hawthorn West Primary School student was racially abused by five other students on a daily basis over a period of four months.
Exposure to this ongoing abuse has left the student in an acute state of anxiety and the child is now being home-schooled due to fears of returning to the location of the abuse.
In the second incident, a 12-year-old Jewish Cheltenham Secondary College student was forced by a group of nine other students to engage in humiliating and racially-motivated acts which were then posted to social media.
In the following months, the student was subjected to ongoing anti-Semitic abuse and suffered from physical assault which resulted in his hospitalisation.
Comments attributable to Shadow Minister for Education, Cindy McLeish:
“All Victorian students deserve a safe environment.”
“Bigotry and racism has no place in our society; it’s appalling and unacceptable that this behaviour is being tolerated in Victorian schools.”
“Parents expect their children to be safe in school and the Andrews Labor Government has failed them.”