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For children, identity is shaped early, not just by family and faith, but by how others respond to their pain. In this episode of Navigating Antisemitism: A Practical Podcast, Rabbi Ged Krebs joins Rabbi Mendel Kastel to talk about what happens when kids feel unheard, misjudged or dismissed, and how schools, systems and communities can do better.
Rabbi Ged Krebs is the School Rabbi at Moriah College in Sydney, one of Australia’s largest Jewish day schools. Every day, he works with students navigating complex questions about who they are and how they fit into a world that often feels unfair. “You see how deeply they feel things,” he says, “and how easily they can internalise shame when no one listens.”
For children, identity is shaped early” not just by family and faith, but by how others respond to their pain. In this episode of Navigating Antisemitism: A Practical Podcast, Rabbi Ged Krebs joins Rabbi Mendel Kastel to talk about what happens when kids feel unheard, misjudged or dismissed, and how schools, systems and communities can do better.
Rabbi Ged Krebs is the School Rabbi at Moriah College in Sydney, one of Australia’s largest Jewish day schools. Every day, he works with students navigating complex questions about who they are and how they fit into a world that often feels unfair. “You see how deeply they feel things,” he says, “and how easily they can internalise shame when no one listens.”
When Rabbi Ged Krebs talks about identity, he’s not interested in abstract theory. He’s talking about the lived experience of Jewish kids growing up in a world where antisemitism isn’t just an idea, but something they come up against in classrooms, on public transport, or online. As Rabbi at Moriah College, one of Sydney’s largest Jewish day schools, Krebs sees firsthand how children develop a sense of self — and how quickly it can be dismantled.
“There’s nothing more sacred than a child’s understanding of who they are,” he says. “And there’s nothing more damaging than making them feel like that identity is something to be ashamed of.”
Krebs is quick to point out that identity is not something a child decides on their own. “Kids are sponges. They pick up on what their parents say, how their school treats them, how society sees them,” he says. “If a child is told to take off their kippah before getting on a train, that message sinks deep, even if no one explains why.”
Both rabbis reflect on how these subtle cues can have long-term consequences. Kastel recalls children who became withdrawn or anxious after experiencing antisemitism, but who didn’t know how to explain what was happening. “They might not say, ‘I feel unsafe being Jewish,’” he says, “but you see it in their behaviour. They shut down.”
Krebs shares the story of a child who was publicly bullied at school for being Jewish. When the school suspended the perpetrator, no one spoke to the victim. “There was no moment of saying, ‘This wasn’t OK. We see you,’” he says. “That’s where the system fails.”
At its best, education builds confidence, connection and curiosity. But Krebs warns that many schools approach cultural identity in shallow ways, focusing on dates and holidays without ever engaging the deeper emotional work.
“What we don’t always do well is make identity personal,” he explains. “If a child doesn’t feel they’re part of a bigger story, then Jewishness becomes a subject, not a self.”
At Moriah, Krebs works with students across ages to help them develop a relationship with their identity that feels meaningful. This includes rituals, stories and open conversations, especially when tragedy strikes. In the wake of the October 7 attacks, students gathered daily to pray for hostages, light candles and share reflections.
“It’s not about pretending everything’s fine,” says Krebs. “It’s about giving kids the tools to feel things and still feel safe.”
But for children in public or non-Jewish schools, those tools are often missing. Kastel emphasises the need for broader cultural competency across the education sector. “You can’t address trauma if you don’t understand where it’s coming from,” he says.
It’s a question Rabbi Krebs has faced over and over again, from students, from patients in palliative care, and from people sitting with grief. The answer, he says, isn’t easy. But Judaism doesn’t pretend to offer simple solutions.
“In Judaism, there’s a recognition that the world is not perfect,” he says. “The whole religion is built on the premise that the world is fractured and we have to be the ones to repair it.”
Instead of offering cosmic justice on demand, Jewish faith focuses on the response; how we live, act and support others, even when things don’t make sense.
One of the strongest themes in the episode is justice, and how children understand fairness through the way adults behave.
When antisemitic incidents happen, Krebs says, the response needs to go beyond discipline. “If we only deal with the offender and ignore the child who was targeted, we’re teaching that justice is impersonal. That it’s about ticking boxes, not about healing.”
Kastel echoes this: “Justice isn’t just punishment. It’s restoration. It’s about making someone feel safe again.”
Whether it’s at school, in health care, or through authority figures, Rabbi Krebs says these moments can fracture a child’s sense of identity.
Krebs shares a story of a young child whose parents asked him to remove his kippah in public. The child didn’t understand why, only that it must be dangerous to be openly Jewish.
“Kids are literal,” says Krebs. “They don’t get subtext. They just learn, ‘This part of me is not welcome here.’”
That’s why Jewish identity can’t just be taught; it has to be modelled. It’s in how parents talk about antisemitism at home. It’s in whether teachers call out bias or let it slide. And it’s in whether school systems back their Jewish students with meaningful action, or empty statements.
“If you’re the kid being bullied or left out, and no adult steps in, you start to believe you deserve it,” he says. “That sticks.”
Rabbi Kastel points out how intergenerational trauma also plays a role, especially for children of refugees or Holocaust survivors. “There’s a mistrust of authority already there,” he says. “When institutions get it wrong again, the damage cuts deep.”
Both rabbis agree that systems often fail Jewish students by not centering their experiences. Krebs points out that teachers might hesitate to intervene or say the wrong thing, but silence communicates just as loudly. “If no one stands up for you, you learn very quickly that it’s better to blend in.”
Justice systems – including school discipline processes -are often designed for control, not compassion. “They’re clinical, they’re sterile,” Rabbi Krebs says. “They deal with behaviour, not the reasons behind it.”
That can be especially harmful when a child’s distress is rooted in exclusion, trauma or cultural misunderstanding. Instead of being asked what’s going on, they’re labelled disruptive.
“If a child’s acting out, it’s not always attitude,” he says. “It’s often pain.”
Judaism, he explains, commands care for the most vulnerable, not as a side issue, but as a core obligation. “The Torah repeats it constantly: look after the orphan, the widow, the stranger. Today, that’s the foster kid, the outsider, the child who doesn’t yet have a voice.”
For Rabbi Krebs, building strong identity in children doesn’t mean protecting them from every hard thing. It means helping them feel seen, heard and safe; even in systems that often miss the mark.
“Faith gives kids language,” he says. “Not just to explain the world, but to locate themselves inside it.”
He talks about teshuvah, not in the punitive sense, but as a return to self, to community, to values. When children experience injustice, what they need most is a way to come back to themselves with dignity intact.
“That’s what identity is,” he says. “Knowing who you are, even when the world around you doesn’t make it easy.”
Ultimately, this episode is a call to adults – educators, health professionals, faith leaders, community members – to pay attention. To ask questions. To recognise when a child’s behaviour is really a signal of something deeper.
“We don’t need more rules,” Rabbi Krebs says. “We need people who care.”
It also means recognising that identity is never static. “Jewish identity isn’t about getting all the answers right,” he adds. “It’s about knowing you’re part of something, and that you matter.”
Kastel agrees, “When someone is treated as less than, even by accident, it chips away at who they believe they are. That’s why these conversations matter.”
At Moriah, Rabbi Krebs has seen the power of community to shape resilience. After the October 7 attacks, the school created space for collective mourning and action. Students prayed daily for hostages, took part in projects, and were encouraged to ask hard questions.
“Ritual gives kids a way to express things they don’t have words for,” says Krebs. “It anchors them.”
That anchoring is critical in a world where Jewish kids are often told to hide who they are. Krebs says education should be a force that helps them hold their identity tighter, not fear it.
Rabbi Kastel adds that schools outside the Jewish system need more tools to do this well. “They don’t know how to recognise trauma when it doesn’t look clinical,” he says. “A child shutting down, or not wanting to go to school, might be a sign something’s going wrong — and too often, it’s missed.”
The episode closes with practical reflection. Every adult plays a role in shaping how kids understand justice, safety and identity. But often, the lessons being taught aren’t the ones intended.
Kastel urges parents to be aware of the messages they send, even unintentionally. “If your child sees you hiding a Jewish symbol, or hears you say it’s ‘not the time’ to speak up, they learn from that,” he says.
Krebs adds that teachers and school leaders have a responsibility to create environments where Jewish kids feel seen. “Ask yourself: if a Jewish student had a problem, would they know who to go to? Would they be believed? Would anything happen?”
It’s a call to action for anyone who works with children; to recognise the weight of identity, the reality of antisemitism, and the need for deep, deliberate support.
🎧Listen to Episode 4: Identity, Education and Justice with Rabbi Ged Krebs
