Australia awards Jewish schools $4.7 million in aid

The Australian government has given $4.7 million in aid for safety upgrades to 13 Jewish schools.

The aid is part of a $19.8 million grants package to 54 Australian schools as part of the government’s Secure Schools Program, according to The Australian Jewish News.

The program focuses on schools at risk of racially, ethnically or religiously motivated violence. In total, 17 Australian Jewish schools have received more than $16 million from the program.

“The Australian government is determined via tough anti-terrorist laws and this program to ensure that events like the massacre outside the Chabad kindergarten in Toulouse do not occur in Australia,” Australian Jewish lawmaker Michael Danby told The Australian Jewish News.

Last March, three children and a rabbi were killed in the Toulouse shootings by a Muslim extremist.