The distress of seeing children being taught how to hide in classrooms

Jewish kids in Melbourne will grow up thinking these drills are normal. I can't blame schools for being prepared. Right now, social media should make anyone uneasy.

During my run for the Victorian parliament last year, I received an invitation to visit a nearby public school. The principal sought to discuss potential funding initiatives in the event of my election as the local representative. Surprisingly, the school, just a short walk from my home, was not somewhere I had previously visited.

Entering what I assumed to be the school's main entrance, I ended up in the middle of a kindergarten classroom. The bemused teacher clarified my mistake and kindly guided me around the corner. She mentioned it was a common error made by visitors, as the school’s entrance was on the side of the building.

However, the entire episode deeply unsettled me, because I could never imagine a similar mistake in a Jewish institution.

In Australia, due to ongoing security threats, Jewish institutions fortify their gates with security measures such as guards, bollards, barbed wire and unyielding fences to protect their students.

At a Jewish school, it would not have been possible to wander in off the street and find myself in the middle of a kindergarten classroom. A security guard would have stopped me.

The reality of Jewish institutions in Australia is a challenge for other Australians to truly comprehend. Recent weeks, marked by renewed violence in Israel and Gaza, have intensified my unease whenever I walk into a Jewish institution. I don’t think average Australians realise that this enduring conflict resonates deeply with Jewish people across the globe, impacting them on many levels.

No matter where they are located, Jewish institutions can be deemed a target for actions that are occurring thousands of kilometres away.