A lesson in respect for bus abuser
THE circle has been closed on last August’s Randwick bus incident, which saw young Jewish students travelling home from school subjected to anti-Semitic taunts by six drunken teenagers.
One of the offenders, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was ordered to participate in a youth justice conference in December last year, where he came face-to-face with a 12-year-old female victim of the abuse and her parents.
The teenager was among six boys who had boarded the bus at Queens Park and started abusing students from Mount Sinai College, Moriah College and Emanuel School.
According to reports, they yelled “Heil Hitler” and threatened to slit the students’ throats.
A course of action for the offender included a guided two-hour tour of the Sydney Jewish Museum in January, where he met a Holocaust survivor, and enrolment in the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies’ (JBOD’s) “Respect, Understanding, Acceptance” harmony program for schools, which he participated in last week.
The latter was not without a stumble. He was due to participate in the program the previous week and made an attempt to do so, but absconded during the lunch break.
After discussions between JBOD, the Juvenile Justice Department and the boy’s parents, it was agreed he could participate in a subsequent version of the program a week later.
JBOD CEO Vic Alhadeff said the teenager got involved in the activities and discussions, completing the program with the other 100 students.
“Our rationale with this issue has always been focused on rehabilitation,” Alhadeff said. “It was about the student taking on board the important messages which our harmony program imparts, rather than about punishment.”
He added, “Our hope is that he completed the program with a new sense of respect for others and an awareness of the need to accept diversity and of the importance of taking a stand on issues.
“Hopefully, it will prove to be a turning-point for him in a positive and constructive way.”
EVAN ZLATKIS
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