Australian inquiry hears how preschool routines are being used to build tolerance from the ground up
An Australian royal commission this week heard a different kind of evidence on antisemitism: not more accounts of division, but examples of people trying to
An Australian royal commission this week heard a different kind of evidence on antisemitism: not more accounts of division, but examples of people trying to stop hate before it starts. As the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion enters its final week of public hearings, academics, human rights specialists and community groups have been pressing one idea — that real human connection still matters.
Starting young
The head of a unique childcare centre told the inquiry the work has to begin with the youngest children, before bias takes root. That approach, she said, helps preschoolers notice familiar feelings and values across different cultures and traditions.
She gave the commission a simple example. Each Friday, the centre marks the Jewish tradition of challah baking. The children shape the dough, take the fresh loaves home, and share them with their families. The smell of bread fills the room. Then it leaves with the children in a small bag. Ordinary, and deliberate.
Using a pseudonym, the Jewish Australian woman described the ritual as a way of showing children that a tradition from one community can still feel warm, welcoming and recognisable to others. The centre’s aim is not sermonising. It is familiarity.
A quieter tone at the hearings
The commission’s tone shifted noticeably this week, with witnesses focusing less on damage and more on what can be built in response. That change came as the inquiry moved through evidence on grassroots projects aimed at social cohesion, bringing together voices from research, rights advocacy and community work.
The broader message was clear. Social cohesion does not grow from slogans. It grows from repeated contact, shared moments and trust built in small spaces — a childcare centre, a classroom, a community group meeting, a weekly ritual around dough and bread.
That argument has global resonance. In many countries, from Europe to North America and beyond, public debate over antisemitism and wider hate has increasingly turned to the same question: how do communities interrupt prejudice before it hardens into habit? In Australia, at least for this week’s witnesses, the answer starts early and close to home.
The commission is now in its final week of public hearings, with attention fixed on what those working at street level can still change. For the childcare centre, the answer arrives every Friday — when fresh challah goes home with the children.
