Brighton Secondary School allegedly had swastikas, didn’t punish Nazi salute as former students sue

School ‘littered’ with swastikas sued by traumatised students who claim they were bullied, subject to Nazi salutes

  • A Melbourne school and its principal are being sued by former students
  • The students allege they suffered anti-Semitic bullying at the expensive school 
  • The state of Victoria is also being sued for allegedly condoning the behaviour 

A Melbourne school principal has been accused of giving speeches endorsing Nazis, calling Jewish people subhuman and failing to protect his students from racial discrimination.

Five former Brighton Secondary College students are suing the school, alleging they were subjected to years of anti-Semitic bullying, discrimination and negligence.

The students, who cannot be named, allege they experienced physical and verbal bullying by students and teachers between 2013 and 2020.

The Brighton Secondary College (pictured in Melbourne) is being sued by five former students

Principal Richard Minack and two teachers are also named in the suit.

The school was ‘littered’ with swastika graffiti, drawn on students hands and desks, the students’ barrister Adam Butt told the Federal Court on Wednesday.

Students were subjected to Nazi salutes, he said.

Mr Minack allegedly gave multiple speeches endorsing his father and grandfather, who had connections to the German army during World War II, the court heard.

‘He endorsed his Nazi father as a good man and at least once referred to Jews as subhuman, evil, the N-word,’ Mr Butt said.

Two students allege they were held at knifepoint or assaulted by fellow students from the school (pictured) who were not punished

Two students allege they were held at knifepoint or assaulted by fellow students from the school (pictured) who were not punished

The state of Victoria is also being sued, accused of having condoned the behaviour.

Two students allege they were held at knifepoint or assaulted by fellow students who were not punished.

One says a teacher wouldn’t allow him to wear a kippah or yarmulke, and another says he was told to remove his Star of David necklace.

Another said they were not allowed to complete a project on Israel’s former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

‘Four out of five of my clients had to leave Brighton part way through a school year because the hostile school environment was intolerable,’ Mr Butt said.

‘We’re talking here about a normalised culture of anti-Semitism.’

He said the school’s failure to protect the students had contravened the Religious Discrimination Act and violated the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children.

‘They didn’t feel like they could be openly Jewish at the school,’ he said.

Defence lawyers will open their case in a trial before Justice Debbie Mortimer later on Wednesday. 

The school was contacted for comment by the Daily Mail. 

The students' barrister Adam Butt told the Federal Court on Wednesday the school was 'littered' with swastika graffiti, and the school's principal Richard Minack referred to Jews as 'subhuman' and 'evil'

The students’ barrister Adam Butt told the Federal Court on Wednesday the school was ‘littered’ with swastika graffiti, and the school’s principal Richard Minack referred to Jews as ‘subhuman’ and ‘evil’