Jewish leaders concerned about rising rates of anti-Semitism in schools

A student at a $40k-a-year Sydney school has been filmed performing a Nazi salute. It comes as Jewish leaders speak out about rising rates of anti-Semitism. WATCH THE VIDEO.

A video has emerged of a student at the $40,000-a-year Cranbrook School smiling and giving a Sieg Heil to the camera in a worrying display of anti-Semitism that Jewish leaders say has overrun public and private schools.

It comes after it was revealed Knox Grammar students were caught making pro-Hitler comments in a chatroom on the Discord app, which also featured examples of anti-Semitic, racist, sexist and homophobic language.

The video of the Cranbrook boy which was supplied to The Daily Telegraph by a concerned parent shows the child in a corridor smile at the camera before performing the Nazi salute as other children unpack their lockers.

Cranbrook principal Nicholas Sampson wrote to parents on Thursday, saying there had been a “noticeable shift in incidences of anti-social and discriminatory behaviour”.

“Through these forums we have made it abundantly clear that we do not tolerate these behaviours in any form. Slurs of this nature are abhorrent to us all and will not be tolerated,” he wrote.

Stills from a video showing a Cranbrook student giving a Sieg Heil to the camera.

He said the school had an improved incident behaviour register in response to the increase in behaviour, while also strengthening alliances with external organisations such as the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies.

“Temptation for young people today can take many forms and across multiple online platforms. I encourage all parents to have important conversations with their children to understand how they are accessing content, the platforms and apps they are using, and who they may be following on social media who are sharing unethical and frankly distasteful commentary,” he said.

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Darren Bark.

One parent at Cranbrook said it was not uncommon to hear jokes at the expense of Jewish people.

“It sounds really awful but it doesn’t surprise me.

“I don’t think this is a Cranbrook thing, I think it is an eastern suburbs thing,” she said.

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Darren Bark said images of Cranbrook boys doing Nazi salutes were “sickening and vile”.

“These displays are grossly offensive. It is beyond comprehension that high school boys are using them to intimidate and bully Jewish students,” he said.

He said they had been inundated with reports of anti-Semitic bullying across NSW schools since they established an anti-Semitic reporting portal on Monday.

“In one incident, a Year 7 boy from a Northern Rivers high school pretended to shoot his peers and uttered the despicable words, ‘Shoot the Jew’,” he said.

“In another incident at an eastern suburbs public high school, the board was made aware that a 16-year-old Jewish boy in year 10 is constantly being called ‘Fat Jew’.”

Knox principal Scott James on Wednesday wrote to the Jewish Board of Deputies accepting their invitation to meet a Holocaust survivor.

“We would be very keen for our boys to visit the Sydney Jewish Museum and to meet with a survivor of the Holocaust.

“We also extend an invitation for a survivor to attend Knox and meet with the boys,” he said.

Cranbrook was approached for comment.