Thanks to significant momentum built from our community and the leadership of the survivors of Bondi, the Federal Government formed the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.

Together with School Council President, Jeffrey Leigh, I have been working on our school’s submission to the Commission and I would like to share with you a summary of what we have presented and requested in our submission.

Before I go into the details, I would like to encourage all members of our community to consider making an individual submission. I believe that the Royal Commission marks a significant investment in understanding the problem and our community is obliged to take the responsibility to tell our stories while there is a body which has responsibilities to listen. No story is too small to tell. There is a wonderful free resource that can help facilitate this -  ShareYourStory (www.shareyourstory.org.au) is a practical guide for families through the process.

Putting together The King David School’s submission has been a challenging task that necessitated a serious reflection on the substantial surge in antisemitic incidents that members of our school community have been subjected to in recent times and also on the manner in which we have acted to reinforce and improve our security and safety mechanisms to respond to the situation.

We are tremendously proud of the hard work that we have undertaken in close partnership with CSG, the PSG, our Security Adviser and relevant authorities to ensure that we are able to create a protective environment where our students can freely enact and develop their rich Jewish identities while taking pride in their Australian heritage.

We began by outlining who our school is and by emphasising that as a Progressive Jewish school in Australia that we are dedicated to our students being proud Jewish Australians and that we also see Zionism and the centrality of Israel as key components of Jewish life.

We identify and describe some of the incidents that have been reported to us by students, staff and alumni since October 7 2023. While I am aware that as a school with students who largely do not wear kippot or traditional Jewish garb outside of school grounds, we have experienced less incidents than other community members whose attire makes them instantly recognisable as Jews, nonetheless, there has been a significant number of regrettable incidents that were worthy of reporting to the Commission. These have involved moments on public transport, on the sporting field, on school excursions, on social media and a significant number on university campuses and their surroundings.

It was important to note that there were also some beautiful moments of compassion, care and gestures of friendship from those outside of our community and also, some examples where partner institutions responded authentically and appropriately to an antisemitic occurrence.

In outlining the extensive focus and resources dedicated to security, Jeffrey and I tried to give a picture to how normalised such interventions have become for our community. We emphasise that while we are deeply committed to maintaining the safety and security of all of our community members, ultimately, we believe that it is a government’s job to protect its citizens.

This led to the recommendations that we would like to see implemented to improve the situation. Firstly, we ask that the Commission recommends that the government takes full responsibility for the full cost of security measures. We assert that it is unconscionable that it is more expensive to be safe if you are Jewish than if you are not. Jews simply should not be required to pay a “safety tax” to live normal lives.

Secondly, we contend that the best antidote to Antisemitism is in education. We believe that a meaningful education that demystifies Jewish life, practice and contribution to Australia is key and this must be accompanied by steps to destigmitise Zionism and rather to appreciate it as an inherent component of Jewish identity for most Australian Jews.

Finally, we request that the Commission takes active steps to reprise the excellent interfaith and intercultural activities that allowed for Jewish Australians to meet, connect and learn with Australians of other faith and cultural groups.

It is our hope that many of you will take up this once in a generation opportunity to share your experiences and thoughts with the Royal Commission. Please consider making your voice count before submissions close at the end of May 2026.

Shabbat Shalom,

Marc Light, Principal