A 16-year-old Australian teenager was charged on Oct. 24 for allegedly threatening to kill a Jewish student who was bullied over the summer.
In July, the unidentified 12-year-old student was forced to kiss the feet of a Muslim student, which was filmed and spread on Instagram. The teen was allegedly infuriated at the media attention the incident received, prompting the alleged threats to the student as well as his mother. The messages reportedly included the teen encouraging the Jewish student to commit suicide.
The mother filed a complaint to police over the alleged messages, prompting the 16-year-old to be arrested earlier in the month. He is scheduled to go to court in November.
A police spokesperson told the Sydney Morning Herald, “Police have charged a 16-year-old Moorabbin boy with make threats to kill, use telecommunications device to harass and stalking in relation to alleged incidents involving a 49-year-old woman and 12-year-old boy between October 7 and 9.”
The Jewish student had reportedly been subjected to further anti-Semitic harassment after the video of him kissing the Muslim student’s shoes became viral; the school, Cheltenham Secondary College, didn’t classify the incident as anti-Semitic. The student has since left the school.
Additionally, a five-year-old Jewish student left Hawthorn West Primary School after being subjected to anti-Semitic slurs about being circumcised and called a “dirty Jew.” The student’s mother told Australia Jewish News that the school wouldn’t admit “there was an anti-Semitic issue,” resulting in the student being homeschooled until his parents find him a new school to enroll in.
Australian State Education Minister James Merlino announced on Oct. 4 that one of the students involved in the student being forced to kiss the Muslim student’s shoes was suspended. However, the ministry will still investigate both incidents, as Merlino said that he’s “still very concerned by the parents’ reports and I have asked for an immediate review into how both schools have handled these matters, to ensure they were dealt with appropriately.”
