Australian students will be taught Jewish history and about the “evils of anti-Semitism and the horrors of the Holocaust” as part of a national curriculum overhaul.
Education Minister Jason Clare announced on Thursday that state and federal governments had decided to adopt all recommendations of a special Anti-Semitism Education Taskforce set up after the Bondi Islamic terrorist attack.
Other reforms to be rolled out in 2027 include a “digital detox” in schools, a revised and simplified primary school maths curriculum with a bigger focus on financial literacy, and a move towards making civics compulsory in Years 9 and 10.
Mr Clare said a new Social Cohesion Education Advisory Council would “progress further work to strengthen social cohesion through education”, and that the anti-Semitism education program would start next year.
“Following the Bondi attack, we said we would review the National Curriculum to strengthen understanding of the evils of anti-Semitism and the horrors of the Holocaust,” he said.
“The changes include understanding of Jewish history and culture and the contributions Jewish Australians have made to our country.
“These changes are important but there is always more we can do to stamp out racism in all its noxious forms.”
The Anti-Semitism Education Taskforce includes as a member Jillian Segal, the Albanese government’s Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism, a former president of Australia’s most powerful Jewish lobby group, the Executive Council of Australia Jewry, and an advocate for more “hate speech” laws.
According to The Australian, the taskforce’s recommendations include teaching about “harmful stereotypes and discriminatory tropes” during Jewish history studies, and teaching high school students about Jewish life in Europe before WW2.
High schools will also be forced to teach students about the “causes and consequences of the Holocaust and how groups supported, opposed or responded to Nazi policies”.
Jewish lobby group the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) welcomed the reforms, and said it had “long called for” the school curriculum to “do more to confront the scourge of anti-Semitism”.
“In the wake of the Bondi terror attack, ensuring young Australians understand where hatred can lead, and the importance of standing up to it, has never been more urgent,” AIJAC said.
“Equally important is teaching students about Jewish history and culture, and the integral contributions Jewish Australians have made to this country and our national story.
“AIJAC looks forward to working constructively with governments, educators and the wider community to advance these important objectives and ensure that education remains at the heart of efforts to combat anti-Semitism and strengthen social cohesion.”
In July Mr Clare announced $6 million in funding for a new Social Cohesion Education Hub, a national online education platform to help schools and teachers tackle anti-Semitism and other types of discrimination, and to strengthen social cohesion.
Header image: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a Bondi memorial (PMO).
