Sydney Grammar suspends Year 12 student over alleged antisemitic AI video

Sydney Grammar School has suspended a Year 12 student after an allegedly antisemitic AI-generated video targeting a Jewish classmate was circulated on social media, according to reporting by the Daily Telegraph.

The video allegedly showed the Jewish student reaching for coins scattered on the ground, drawing on a long-standing antisemitic stereotype portraying Jewish people as greedy or obsessed with money. Community leaders said the incident reflected how old forms of hatred were now being repackaged using artificial intelligence technology.

The incident emerged during a week of hearings for the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, where Jewish Australians have been giving evidence about rising abuse, intimidation and discrimination. The commission was established following the December 2025 terror attack at a Chanukah event at Bondi Beach that left 15 people dead.

Sydney Grammar headmaster Stuart McPherson confirmed the school had dealt with “a matter involving a senior boy’s misconduct on social media”.

“While this was judged not to be a malicious or calculated act, its ramifications were serious, especially in the impact it had on the other boy concerned,” he said.

The Daily Telegraph reported that one student had been suspended, although sources claimed up to a dozen other students were also spoken to as part of the school’s investigation. NSW Police and other government agencies were informed about the matter.

According to the Telegraph, parents said fellow students quickly reported the video to teachers after becoming aware of it, with classmates rallying around the Jewish student in support.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry head of legal Simone Abel said the technology involved may be new, but the prejudice behind it is familiar.

“At the end of the day, antisemitic conduct is antisemitic conduct,” she said.

“If conduct is assessed to be antisemitic, whatever the intent behind it, there needs to be consequence and accountability.”

Abel also said schools needed to ensure students received proper education about antisemitism and that those responsible for such behaviour were held accountable and rehabilitated.

McPherson said Sydney Grammar had consulted external authorities before carrying out its own internal disciplinary processes and said the school placed strong emphasis on respectful behaviour and the ethical use of social media.

In a message to the school community earlier this year, McPherson said the school stood firmly against antisemitism and all forms of racism and was committed to ensuring all students were treated equally regardless of race, religion, sexuality or gender.