29 November 2006
A mock exercise where Australian high school students simulated the Middle Eastern conflict by playing Arabs and Israelis has been canceled after allegations that it was a training ground for terrorists, local media reports. The role-play was dropped after complaints by parents it sympathized with terrorists and inflamed racial tensions sparked a government inquiry, the "Australian" newspaper writes. "The allegation was made that we were training terrorists," Macquarie University's Andrew Vincent was quoted as saying, after an education department probe claimed the exercise he designed risked creating disharmony in schools. Parents of students at Sydney's Killara High School, where the program was run, said background notes painted groups such as Hamas's Qassam Brigades and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in a sympathetic light and failed to mention they were listed as terrorist groups under Australian law. A description of Hezbollah used in the program outlined the group's charitable activities, but not its military action, the paper said. Jewish students at the school reportedly felt intimidated, with classroom divisions continuing in the playground after class. Sensitivity to inter-ethnic tensions has been elevated since last December's riots between white mobs and Lebanese-Australians and, more recently, a top Muslim cleric sparked public outrage with comments that scantily-clad women invited rape.
