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A high school principal whose students were accused of hurling ugly antisemitic slurs during a Melbourne Museum excursion has described the conduct as “deplorable”.
A group of year 11 boys from Gladstone Park Secondary College are alleged to have called 10-year-old children from Mount Scopus Memorial College “dirty Jews” as the two school groups mingled during the museum visit last week.
Students at Gladstone Park Secondary College allegedly hurled antisemitic abuse at Jewish children.Credit: Facebook
The incident has prompted investigations by Museums Victoria and the Education Department, an intervention by the state government to condemn the conduct and widespread revulsion in the Australian Jewish community and beyond.
In her response to parents and members of the public asking the school about the incident, Principal Veronica Hoy condemned the behaviour of the students responsible for the abuse.
“The behaviour of a group of some of our students at Melbourne Museum was completely deplorable,” Hoy wrote in her message.
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“We recognise that words and actions rooted in discrimination are not just hurtful, but deeply traumatic and unacceptable.”
Hoy said the students’ behaviour at the museum did not reflect their school’s values.
“These are not the behaviours I, or the leadership team at Gladstone Park SC, expect of our students, and they do not represent our values as a school community,” the principal wrote.
“Nevertheless, they have occurred, and I take responsibility for putting in place an investigation to get to the heart of what motivates such behaviour.”
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The principal’s message did not make it clear if disciplinary action had been taken against the young people involved, and neither the school nor the Education Department would confirm those details on Thursday.
But Hoy said the school would be investigating the motivations of the students for directing abuse towards the much younger children.
“I will also be reviewing this incident with my leadership team as we develop a broader response to addressing racism in our school, in line with the Department of Education’s new policy on this, and will work with the department and its partners in the Jewish community to appropriately educate our students and ensure that such behaviours are not repeated.”
Hoy had already apologised, in the immediate aftermath of the incident, to Mount Scopus Principal Dan Sztrajt, with the two school leaders agreeing to work together to address antisemitic sentiment among Gladstone Park students.
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