Witnesses begin evidence; social media slurs against Jews, Adolf Hitler references revealed

Jeremy Stowe-Lindner, principal of Bialik College in Melbourne, testifies.

The college is a pluralistic, non-denominational Jewish school, he said. “We don’t adhere to one type of denomination,” he said.

“Before October 7, an incident might occur on a football field or on public transport perhaps every few months. [Since then] “We faced an avalanche of experiences,” he said.

These included graffiti, stickers, people walking past the school and shouting insults or giving Nazi salutes or gun symbols, and harassment on public transport.

“We can no longer enter Melbourne’s CBD in school uniform,” he said. “We saw Hitler salutes and Jewish insults.” He said that on a college tour, two students from another school spat on his students.