Student Banned from Formal for Wearing Keffiyeh Sparks Protest at Sydney High School

More than 100 students and their families gathered for a snap protest yesterday at Condell Park High School after a student was banned from attending the formal for wearing a keffiyeh, a symbol of solidarity with Palestine. 

The Condell Park High School year 12 student had been banned from his year 12 formal after wearing a Palestinian scarf to his graduation ceremony. 

The pro-Palestinian protesters demanded accountability from the school and called for the student to be allowed to attend the event. 

The decision to ban him from his formal has sparked outrage within the local community, leading to an online petition and accusations of racism on Condell Park High School’s Facebook page.

Among the comments, users expressed for action to be taken against the school. 

One person wrote, “Absolutely disgusted that you didn’t allow a Palestinian student wear [sic] his cultural garment for graduation. Issue a formal apology to that student and all Arab students”.

Another person wrote, “Shame on the perpetrators of hate and blatant racism at this school.” They also wrote, “Get on the right side of history. Your teaching means nothing if you don’t teach the truth,” in response to a school post from six days ago about Condell Park’s Year 10 students participating in a Peer Support training session.

Year 12 student demands apology for ban over keffiyeh

A statement read by one speaker on behalf of the teenage boy at the centre of the incident said the student initially did not want to make a fuss about the issue. 

“I wanted an apology and to be allowed to attend the formal,” the statement said.

“This request was sent to the school, the department and the minister. The response came over three weeks later, in a letter from the department’s lawyers, they said that the school had done nothing wrong,” as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald. 

His older sister called Condell Park High School’s treatment of her brother unjust, noting that other students wore cultural attire without issue. 

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

Protest Organised by Palestinian Activist Groups Condemns Formal Ban as Unjust

The snap protest, organised by SydStudents4Palestine, Palestine Action Group Sydney, and other Palestinian activist groups, condemned the formal ban as outrageous.

“No student should be segregated because of their cultural attire,” read a post by SydStudents4Palestine.

An activist from the protest referred to words shared at a previous Palestinian rally, expressing the emotional impact of being Palestinian. 

“Being Palestinian at school means I fall asleep watching live streams of massacres in Gaza, seeing anxious mothers search through rubble for their children’s dismembered bodies.”

“I wake up to another massacre, and then I go to school and am expected to shut up because school is an apolitical place. Palestine is not to be mentioned on school grounds. Shame.”

The student continued, “Whilst my classmates discuss graduation, I’m thinking about how the entire school year in Gaza has been cancelled right now and there is not a single standing university left in Gaza for them to attend.

“The same system that fills our history curriculum with the Jewish holocaust, teaching us the ten steps of genocide, teaching us that ‘never again’ but turning a blind eye to our burnt children, headless babies and the rapidly increasing death toll in Gaza right now,” she said. 

NSW Education Department Stresses Apolitical Stance Amid Formal Attendance Issue

NSW Education Department secretary Murat Dizdar has offered to meet personally with the 17-year-old student. 

The Department of Education released a statement urging schools to remain apolitical in order to promote “safety, respect and social cohesion.”

“We are working towards a resolution to enable all students to celebrate their achievements at the school formal in a safe, respectful and harmonious environment,” a spokesperson from the Department of Education said. 

However, the Condell Park High School student may only be allowed to attend the school formal this week, on the condition that he does not wear the keffiyeh at his formal and to drop all claims against the school.

The year 12 student has also lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission. 

His solicitor, Abdullah Reslan of Kings Law Group, stated “There are state and federal laws in place to protect the community against racial discrimination.

“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,” Reslan said. 

Condell Park High School’s formal is set to take place on Thursday night.