A Sydney teacher and former reality TV contestant is being investigated after his class was shown videos described as “dangerous” and “anti-Semitic” propaganda.
A Jewish family has withdrawn their 15-year-old daughter from Davidson High School, a public school on Sydney’s northern beaches, as the NSW Department of Education investigates the incident.
Teacher Bendejoz Deveni Potos showed his 10th grade commerce students a 16-minute video titled “Why Does International Law Not Apply to the West?” as part of a lesson on international law on July 1.
The video was obtained from the YouTube channel “Second Thought,” which describes itself as “dedicated to education and analysis of current events from a socialist perspective.”
It is also listed on Mr. Devine Potos’ public YouTube page under a playlist called “School Resources.”
The video repeatedly describes the war in Gaza as “genocide,” describes Israel as a “genocidal, apartheid regime” whose snipers “execute” children, and accuses the “pro-Israel lobby” of “weaponizing the Holocaust.”
He also expressed his sympathy for the terrorist organization Hamas, describing it as the “Palestinian resistance.”
“Joe Biden and his followers have certainly doubled down on their efforts to deny the genocide, which will become their legacy,” the video host says.
“The efforts to shield the genocidal apartheid regime from legal consequences are appalling.
“We all agree that American politicians are notoriously dishonest. It takes a special kind of evil to describe Israel’s genocidal crimes as ‘false crimes.’”
The Jewish student’s parents, Eran and Karen – who asked that their last names not be used to protect their daughter – were horrified when they learned of the lesson.
“It’s just propaganda, one scene after another against Israel, against the United States, against the entire Western world, including Australia,” Eran said.
“Sharing this type of content as an authority figure in a classroom, where you have a specific audience of 30 or 40 kids, was terrifying.”
The family – who moved from Israel when their daughter was one year old and have relatives who are still displaced after Hamas terrorists attacked their kibbutz on October 7 – believes the content is “anti-Semitic.”
“I had to sit in class for 15 minutes with my classmates watching that, knowing where we came from, where she came from, it was really — I don’t even have the words to express how that felt,” Karen said.
The family says Mr. Devine Potos told the class he would show another YouTube video the next day titled “Gaza: A Clear Case of Genocide” and sent the students a link as well as a worksheet asking them to answer a number of key questions, including, “How [Israel’s] “Is the Israeli bombing campaign legally considered an act of genocide?” and “Who is guilty…of committing genocide in Gaza?”
The parents informed the school that the girl – an outstanding student who has won the principal’s award for the past three years – would not return to school until the teacher was suspended.
“We feel the environment is not safe for her and she will not return to school,” Karen said.
The family says it is unacceptable that school principal David Rule did not provide an update on the progress of the investigation two weeks after the incident, as he promised.
“A teacher who shares this type of content should be suspended immediately until investigations begin,” Eran said.
“The mental health of those 30 kids in that classroom is much more important than that teacher.”
Mr Devin Potos starred in the Seven reality series Beauty and the Geek, which made headlines in 2011 after the show failed to reveal he was an actor.
He is understood to have started teaching history and commerce at the school this year. Northern Beaches councillor Michael Genscher says he has been contacted by a number of families at the school who are concerned about the video the teacher showed.
“This is one of the worst examples of targeted nonsense you can imagine being presented to children,” said Rep. Genscher. “The transmission of these extreme political and ideological ideas to children is appalling.”
“These are dangerous ideas and they are presented in a dangerous context of false narrative and they are presented to children.”
The liberal adviser is also executive director of StandWithUs, a nonprofit that aims to educate people about Israel and anti-Semitism. He said Mr. Devine-Botos needed “very strong counsel” and education.
A NSW Department of Education spokesman said the incident was under investigation and that staff were required under the code of conduct to “remain politically neutral in the performance of their duties”.
“Any employee of the administration, including teachers, found to have violated the code of conduct will be subject to appropriate action,” the ministry spokesman said.
It was learned that school staff will have to undergo further training on controversial issues policy in schools on Monday, the day free of students before school after the holidays.
Mr. Roll did not respond to a request for comment.
