Published: 14 May 2021
Last updated: 4 March 2024
SUZANNE RUTLAND argues that her research into scripture classes at Australian public schools reveals a different landscape of antisemitism than the findings of Crossroads21
FIRSTLY, I WOULD LIKE to stress that the results of Crossroads21, which demonstrate the very low level of antisemitic sentiments amongst the broad Australian public, are of great value and should be welcomed.
This includes the strong support for banning the swastika, although other scholars and commentators point out the problems in relation to the Hindu use of this symbol, which was appropriated by the Nazis as part of their national, fascist agenda.
At the same time, I don’t think these findings, based on a quantitative survey, tell the whole complex story about antisemitism. The qualitative research into government schools by my Israeli colleague, Professor Zehavit Gross and myself, tells a different story.
From 2009-19, we conducted two qualitative studies in relation to Special Religious Education/Instruction classes in government schools in Sydney and Melbourne, known anecdotally as “scripture”.
In the first of these studies. we were not investigating antisemitism specifically but rather issues relating to Jewish education. We simply asked the students why they wanted to attend scripture classes, which are voluntary. As can sometimes happen with such research, unexpected data emerged, which left us stunned. We thought stereotypical antisemitism was a phenomenon of the past, which the current study also tends to reinforce.
Yet, from primary to high school, the students informed us that they wanted to attend these classes because they were a “safe place”. When we asked for explanations, the students described classical stereotypes being expressed in the playgrounds. They told us:
... they will say: ‘That’s a Jew nose.’ They say something about payot [sidelocks]. Then they have a brit set [circumcision set]. Or they take scissors and go like this [demonstrating scissors cutting with his hands]: ‘do you want another brit? (2009)
