Latest news with #VeronicaHoy
Sky News AU
31-07-2025
- Sky News AU
Principal of high school students who hurled abuse at Jewish students visiting Melbourne Museum breaks her silence
The principal of high school students who targeted young children on a school excursion in Melbourne has launched an investigation into the 'completely deplorable' behaviour. Abhorrent abuse was hurled at a group of Jewish primary school students from Mount Scopus Memorial College during an excursion to Melbourne Museum. The year 5 students, aged between 10 and 11, were called "dirty Jews" by high school students, amid chants of 'free, free Palestine'. The teenagers were from Gladstone Park Secondary College in Melbourne's outer northwest, the Herald Sun revealed. Principal Veronica Hoy called out the behaviour from some of her teenage students as 'deeply traumatic and unacceptable'. 'The behaviour of a group of some of our students at Melbourne Museum was completely deplorable,' she told the Herald Sun. 'Racism has no place in or outside of the classroom.' The incident outraged families of the young students, with one parent saying on social media that his son had been called a "dirty Jew", and labelled the act "pure, unadulterated antisemitism". 'Today, my 10-year-old son went on an excursion to the Melbourne Museum,' he said. 'What should have been a day of learning and culture turned into a terrifying experience when he and his classmates were targeted by high school students from a different school. 'They were tapped on the shoulder and then chanted at by these 16- and 17-year-old students 'free Palestine' and then, as they walked away, were called 'dirty Jews' and other racist comments. 'This is not a political debate; this is pure, unadulterated antisemitism and hate.' Ms Hoy will take responsibility for pursuing an investigation into what happened. She added this incident 'does not represent our values as a school'. '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,' Ms Hoy said. This is not the first time Mount Scopus has been the target of antisemitic abuse. Last year the leading Jewish school was defaced with hateful graffiti inciting death upon Jews, with parents keeping their children at home out of fear. The words 'Jew die' were daubed in black spray paint on the school's white fence. Executive Council of Australian Jewry chief executive Alex Ryvchin criticised the high school students for bringing 'disgrace to themselves, their school and their country'. 'Where would Australian high school students learn this behaviour?' he said. 'Form the belief that it is OK, even righteous to see a Jewish symbol on the uniforms of 8- and 9-year-olds and subject them to chants about Palestine? 'It comes from a certain moral collapse brought about by nearly two years of normalised abuse and violence, where anyone who holds an opposing view on the war is a Nazi and a baby-killer, where anything down to Jews living peacefully on the other side of the world is justified, or if impossible to defend, it's a false flag.'
Sydney Morning Herald
31-07-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
High school principal condemns ‘deplorable' antisemitic slurs by her students
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. 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. Loading '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.
The Age
31-07-2025
- The Age
High school principal condemns ‘deplorable' antisemitic slurs by her students
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. 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. Loading '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.
