Military veteran Michael von Berg slams Victorian group Teachers 4 Palestine’s vow to ‘dismantle’ Anzac Day as a ‘slap in the face’

An Australian Defense Force hero has hit back against a group of teachers who want to ‘dismantle the Anzac legacy’.

Pippa Tandy, a spokesperson for Victorian group Teachers 4 Palestine, said she wants to change the way Australian history is taught in schools because she is “tired of having to do ideological work for arms companies and the government”.

But veteran Michael von Berg MC OAM told Daily Mail Australia it was a “slap in the face” for those who had defended the nation and that “if the Education Minister had any courage he would go back on this”.

Ms Tandy said in an interview with Tom Elliott on 3AW this week that she was “concerned about the whole Anzac Day story”.

‘If you look at history, Anzac forces in the Middle East and in the Ottoman Empire during World War I were involved in breaking up Arab territories to divide them among European states, [and] some of that involved clearing out Palestinians,” she said.

Teachers and school staff for Palestine Victoria said this week it “will not glorify Australia’s military history on Anzac Day”.

Mr Von Berg said the day commemorates the tens of thousands of Australian and New Zealand troops who have been lost, injured or given their lives on the battlefield protecting the nation, and those who have returned mentally scarred.

‘It’s a sacred day on the Australian calendar.

“The ignorant and apathetic position taken by Teachers4Palestine in boycotting Anzac Day is a slap in the face to all who served and a total disrespect for those who shed blood.”

Mr. Von Berg was a platoon commander in Vietnam and received a Military Cross for his actions in 1966.

His citation states that he “showed complete disregard for his own safety” when he led his troops in successfully pushing back an enemy attack after being ambushed in a ravine, saving their lives.

The group Teachers for Palestine Victoria, which has links with hundreds of schools across Australia, has linked Anzac Day to the plight of Palestinians, including Israel’s violent retaliation against Hamas’ terrorist attacks on October 7.

It has published a textbook focusing on “the border wars, the mistreatment of returning soldiers, Australian war crimes in Afghanistan, and the perspectives of Palestinian academics and advocates.”

In particular, the group said it would highlight the Sarafand Al-amar massacre, in which, according to some sources, between 40 and 137 Palestinians were killed by the Anzacs in 1918.

Troops stationed near the village had become frustrated with petty thefts and occasional killings of their men by locals, and after a New Zealand soldier was killed in a robbery, they attacked the village, killing residents killed and set buildings on fire.

Mr von Berg said he was shocked that this would be taught to children.

“I’ve spoken to schoolchildren and talked about camaraderie, purpose and leadership, we don’t talk about blood and guts.”

‘I think that’s special.

‘The Ministry of Education and the Minister of Education should act on this.

“These woke teachers want to redesign a syllabus to suit their own biases.”

In a fiery clash with Tom Elliott, Ms Tandy said many teachers were “increasingly concerned about the way they present the material we are given”.

‘The situation in the Middle East is the result of empires cutting up areas. Just like the battle for Africa was,” she told the 3AW host.

“Anzac Day is used for ideological purposes, it is not just to commemorate the sacrifices.”

Mr Elliott fired back, asking Ms Tandy whether she thought countries involved in these wars had a choice.

“Are you saying we shouldn’t have opposed Imperial Japan or Nazi Germany in World War II?” he asked.

‘If you study Anzac Day it’s anti-war, it doesn’t say war is great, it says it’s terrible, but sometimes it’s necessary.

“Anzac Day began as a way to commemorate the sacrifices of Australian soldiers at Gallipoli and has grown into a broader commemoration of the sacrifices of generations of young Australian men and women for the greater good.”

“I’m not saying every Anzac is a hero, but many were,” said Elliot.

“The vast majority of Australians believe Anzac Day is worth remembering. You’re in the minority here.’

Ms Tandy said she knew hundreds of teachers who held the same views as her.

“We are tired of having to do this ideological work for gun companies and the government.”

Teachers and School Staff for Palestine Victoria has claimed that ‘schools are deliberate targets for government-funded mystification about Australia’s role in wars’.

The ‘arms companies’ claim is a reference to some of the teaching material on Australia’s military history provided to schools by the Australian War Memorial.

Arms and defense companies such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Thales and Boeing have provided funding to the Australian War Memorial (AWM). Senate figures show that about $803,000 was donated between 2021 and 2023.

The AWM council chairman, former Prime Minister Kim Beazley, has said such sponsorship is “important for presentations and events of a special nature outside the normal operating budget.”

“Our partnership policy does not guide donor content,” he said.

Mr Elliott told Ms Tandy she sounded like a “conspiracy theorist” when she said arms companies were putting pressure on Anzac Day.

She fired back, asking if “the genocide in Palestine was a conspiracy theory.”

Mr Elliott said this has nothing to do with the Anzacs.

“Yes, that’s right, it’s all part of the same imperial impulse,” Mrs. Tandy claimed.

Teachers for Palestine Victoria said it was ‘important for students to know that the Anzacs left a long and violent historical imprint on Palestine’.

“We have made a number of suggestions (for the teaching syllabus) that highlight the factual history of the Anzacs and American and European rule in the Middle East,” Ms Tandy said.

‘This way we can teach children in an age-appropriate way what really happened.’

A spokesperson for RSL Australia told Daily Mail Australia: ‘This appears to be more of a matter for the education authorities, not for the RSL to comment on.

‘Regardless of the political, constitutional and international treaty obligations in place at the time (WW I), the role of the RSL is to represent our veterans and commemorate and honor their service, dedication and courage, and encourage all Australians to do the same .

‘We do this all the time, but especially on Anzac Day, Remembrance Day and other important commemoration dates.’