No to Racism: Apologise to student from Palestinian background barred from Year 12 formal, for wearing keffiyeh at his graduation.

We are calling on NSW Education Minister Prue Car to

• Issue a formal apology to the student and his family
• Allow the student to attend the Year 12 formal
• Offer compensation to the student and his family for the harm caused
•  Instruct all schools that such actions are never to happen again
• End anti-Palestinian racism and stop the suppression of keffiyeh in NSW schools

Why is this important?

In an act of anti-Palestinian racism, Condell Park High School banned a student from a Palestinian background attending his year 12 formal because he wore a scarf with the keffiyeh pattern to his graduation ceremony.

Worse still the NSW Education Department backed this racism. The students solicitor Abdullah Reslan of Kings Law Group says “It is alarming that taxpayer money is being spent on lawyers to prevent an innocent boy from attending his formal alongside his peers in these circumstances.”

According to the Sydney Morning Herald

 "The 17-year-old said his older sister handed him the garment as he waited to receive his graduation certificate so he could wear the symbol of his Palestinian heritage on the most important day of his schooling life."

"The teenager’s older sister, who attended the graduation ceremony, said the school’s treatment of her brother was outrageous, given that other students wore culturally significant garments without incident.

“The keffiyeh is a centuries-old garment worn by my family, grandparents, great-grandparents and many others in the Palestinian community,” she said.

Anas Iqtait, lecturer at the Australian National University, said it was cultural attire worn for thousands of years.

“Palestinians wear it during important celebrations like graduations, weddings, national holidays and family celebrations"