Sydney private school Cranbrook will undertake a detailed internal review following reports of anti-Semitic bullying and concerns raised from parents and alumni.
In a letter to parents on Thursday, Cranbrook school council president Jon North said he joined the headmaster in condemning “all forms of anti-social, bullying and discriminatory behaviour … including racist slurs and jokes”.
Cranbrook school council has announced a detailed review following reports of anti-Semitic behaviour.Credit:Flavio Brancaleone
The Herald revealed last week that the Bellevue Hill boys’ school was dealing with at least three families who had complained about anti-Semitic behaviour, including a video shared among students of a boy in Cranbrook uniform performing a Nazi salute at school.
North said he had since received correspondence from several parents and alumni who are deeply concerned by this behaviour and have called upon the school to implement additional educational initiatives around anti-Semitism, discrimination and bullying.
He promised that, once the review was complete, the school council would report back to the community on the steps that would be taken.
North said the school “welcomed students from diverse ethnic backgrounds of all beliefs” and it was the school’s “moral duty to ensure that students are properly educated about all forms of racism, its genesis and the harm that it causes”.
The school council has invited NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Darren Bark to speak with members at its next meeting in October.
Bark said he welcomed the announcement of the review and the invitation to a meeting.
“The Jewish Board of Deputies will work closely with Cranbrook’s leadership to ensure that students at the school receive additional education about the harmful effects of dehumanising their fellow students,” Bark said.
The Herald has also reported on a rise of anti-Semitic incidents at other schools, including Rose Bay Secondary College. It comes amid a rise in anti-Semitism across Australia and worldwide, and an academic study showing students from Christian, Muslim and Hindu faiths are also bullied in Australian schools.
Recent reports about an online chat room run by students at Knox Grammar also revealed widespread misogynist, homophobic and transphobic behaviour.
Wentworth MP Allegra Spender said bullying, anti-Semitism, racism and inclusion will be the key issues discussed at two education summits she plans to hold in November with primary and secondary students from schools across her eastern suburbs electorate.
“Discussion about bullying, racism and anti-Semitism will be at the front and centre because it has local implications and broader policy implications,” Spender said. “I will be working with the Jewish community to help lead those discussions.”
Cranbrook was contacted for comment.
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