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Catholic and Jewish students discuss antisemitism at school forum to mark Nostra Aetate

High school students from Catholic and Jewish schools in Sydney have come together at a forum to mark the 6oth anniversary of the watershed Vatican document Nostra Aetate, which reset Catholic-Jewish relations.

Held at Australian Catholic University’s (ACU) North Sydney Campus, under the auspices of Catholic Education NSW and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, 125 students from 15 Catholic and Jewish secondary schools heard from two leading figures tasked with fostering peace and dialogue between Catholics and Jews, Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal AM, and Chaldean Archbishop Amel Nona, who was exiled from Iraq by the Islamic State.

Students asked astute questions about issues related to antisemitism to a panel of Jewish and Catholic leaders including chief executive officer of Catholic Schools NSW Dallas McInerney; co-chief executive officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Peter Wertheim; Chief Rabbi of the Great Synagogue Rabbi Benjamin Elton; prominent Catholic educator Dr Paul O’Shea; and Catholic Religious Australia Justice Research Officer Emma Carolan.

The students striking questions included if it was possible to be pro-Jewish but anti-Israel; how to define anti-Zionism and antisemitism; the impact of social media on the rise of antisemitism; what elements of interfaith discourse have been avoided since 7 October, 2023; and the Catholic Church’s position on Israel.

The dialogue with panellists will inform the production of digital resources to help combat antisemitism for use in Catholic schools throughout New South Wales. The resources will be produced by ACU’s Ancient Israel Program - the only Australian university course dedicated to the archaeology and history of Ancient Israel.

It follows Ms Segal’s proposal as Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitic to embed Holocaust and antisemitism education in the national and state school curriculum, including in Catholic schools.

Nostra Aetate’s lasting legacy

In 1965 Pope Paul VI promulgated the landmark declaration of the Second Vatican Council, Nostra Aetate, which transformed relations between Jewish and Catholic communities.

The document reinstated the Church’s strong condemnation and rejection any forms of “hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone”.

As chair of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference’s Commission for Christian Unity and Inter-religious Dialogue, which works closely with the Council of Australian Jewry, Archbishop Nona is no stranger to persecution. 

While Archbishop of Mosul for four years, he witnessed the persecution and killings of Iraqi Christians at the hands of the Islamic State, before being forced into exile. Almost no-one was left in the homeland of the Chaldeans.

Archbishop Nona fled to Sydney before Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of the Chaldean Catholic Diocese of St Thomas the Apostle of Australia and New Zealand in 2025.

Speaking to students on the influence of Nostra Aetate, he said the document was a moral and spiritual turning point for rejecting antisemitism, reiterating that it was incompatible with the Christian faith.

“To follow Christ means to reject hatred in any form, but especially against Jews,” he said.

The power of education

As Special Envoy, Ms Segal has proposed embedding antisemitism education in national and state school curriculum, including in Catholic schools.

In addressing the Jewish and Catholic students at the Nostra Aetate forum, Ms Segal said the event was part of numerous positive steps towards driving real cultural change to combat antisemitism.

“Education is a central part of my plan- both at universities and at schools,” Ms Segal said. 

“It is the main tool that is available to us all to tackle antisemitism proactively and for the next generation of leaders. There is therefore a sacred duty for educators to inform themselves about antisemitism -its nature and history- so they can make a positive impact on this scourge and help repair Australia’s social cohesion.”

In acknowledging the efforts of both ACU and Catholic Schools NSW to address the resurgence of antisemitism, Peter Wertheim, co-Chief Executive Officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said education was paramount.

“In combatting antisemitism, there is no substitute for the hard proactive work of ‘educating the educator’ about the history, forms, adaptability and evils of antisemitism, so that the educator can convey that learning to successive generations of students,” Mr Wertheim said.

“The government schools’ sector has only begun to address this problem, but not in any consistent, systematic way across Australia. So once again it has fallen to the community to take the initiative. If the bank of resources which Jewish and Catholic educators have developed prove to be effective, we will be in an optimum position to roll them out more widely to other schools as well.”

The Nostra Aetate and Countering Antisemitism School Forum to mark 60 years since the landmark document was an initiative of ACU’s Ancient Israel Program Director Associate Professor Gil Davis and Catholic Schools NSW Head of Mission Ben Smith.

ACU’s Ancient Israel program and Catholic Schools NSW will continue to collaborate on educational resources and dialogue to promote Jewish culture and prevent antisemitism.