The Anti-Defamation Commission has welcomed the expulsion from Scouts Victoria of a youth involved in an antisemitic assault on a Jewish teenager, who has also received a diversion order in the Children’s Court.

The attack took place in February at a Scouts Victoria event at Lardner Park in Gippsland. The victim, then 18, was wearing a kippah and walking with a friend carrying an Israeli flag when another youth challenged him over “that flag” and abused him. Later that night, at a crowded camp event, he was tapped on the shoulder and punched in the face three times. Victoria Police described it as a targeted incident and charged a 17-year-old boy.

When the commission broke the story in February, its chairman, Dr Dvir Abramovich, said: “This was not a burst of teenage temper. This was a message delivered in knuckles: ‘Hide who you are, Jew, or pay the price.’”

This month the family was told the youth had been expelled. “This decision matters. It took too long, but it is right,” Dr Abramovich said. “And it sends a message every Jewish child in Scouts Victoria needed to hear: antisemitism will not pitch a tent here. A kippah is not a provocation. An Israeli flag is not an invitation to abuse. Jewish pride is not a licence for someone else’s fists.”

A kippah is not a provocation. An Israeli flag is not an invitation to abuse.Dr Dvir Abramovich, ADC Chairman

He said the diversion order must carry a clear lesson. “Diversion must never mean minimisation. It must mean responsibility. It must mean education,” he said.

Dr Abramovich called on Scouts Victoria to introduce serious antisemitism education, clear hate-incident procedures and direct reassurance to every Jewish scout and family. “If a Jewish child cannot wear a kippah at Scouts without fear, then Scouts has failed its own promise,” he said. “This decision helps repair that promise. Now Scouts Victoria must make sure it is never broken again.”

In a joint statement, the teenager and his father said: “Nothing can undo the trauma, but consequences matter. No one should have to hide who they are to feel safe at Scouts.”