Anti-Semitism: Australian universities urged to act ‘immediately’ on anti-Jewish scourge by Parliament

The Federal Parliament has put Australian universities on notice to take stronger action to curb anti-Semitism or risk a judicial inquiry.

The warning after a parliamentary inquiry by the joint committee on human rights comes amid fears within the Jewish Australian community that a nationwide anti-Semitism crisis is being stoked by toxic anti-Jewish behaviour on university campuses.

Danielle Tischmann, co-president of the Australian Union of Jewish Students, said she hoped the report would spur universities to take the fears and intimidation of Jewish students more seriously.

“We hope that this recommendation will see universities return to a place of collaboration between students of all cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds,” she said.

Ms Tischmann drew a direct link between the “incubation” of anti-Semitic ideas on campuses and the rise of anti-Semitism across Australia that has led to arson attacks and vandalism against synagogues, a childcare centre and other Jewish targets.

“When students graduate university they go on to become our future teachers, our future politicians, judges, nurses and doctors. When they stand amongst their classmates and throw their cap into the air, they don’t just leave with lessons they’ve learned from textbooks,” she said.

“They leave with lessons they’ve learned from their peers, the lessons they’ve learned through their student life experience. If we see anti-Semitism continue on university campuses, we will see anti-Semitism persist throughout society.”

The inquiry report, which was released on Wednesday evening, found there is an urgent need for reform to ensure the safety of Jewish students and staff on university campuses.

Among its 10 recommendations for the coming academic year is a demand on universities to simplify their complaints policies and to adopt a clear definition of antisemitism that closely aligns with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition.

The report also calls for universities to engage better with Jewish students and staff and to deliver ongoing training for academic leaders to recognise and address anti-Semitism.

A newly appointed National Student Ombudsman will assess the progress of universities in responding to the inquiry within twelve months.

Committee chairperson and Labor MP Josh Burns said failure to comply with the report’s recommendations could trigger a judicial inquiry.

“The idea of a judicial inquiry, which is essentially a royal commission, is a big step, obviously, and one that we’ve been willing to keep on the table,” he said.

“But we think that it is appropriate that the recommendations that are made in this report should be done immediately.

“It should not have taken a national anti-Semitism crisis and a parliamentary inquiry for universities to take the concerns of Jewish students and staff seriously — concerns they have been sharing for years,” he said.

The inquiry received 47 public submissions and held four public hearings during which it heard evidence from numerous universities. It considered over 600 submissions, many from Jewish students and staff detailing their experiences.

In their own testimonies, university vice-chancellors addressed the need to balance the fight against anti-Semitism with protecting freedom of speech.

“As much as universities must be champions of freedom of speech and bastions of facts, critical thinking and the like, they can never be places of fear and all must be welcome and safe on our campuses,” Professor George Williams from Western Sydney University, told a January hearing.

Josh Burns said while he supported the right to academic freedom, “when it crosses over that threshold where people are harmed or vilified or intimidated, harassed or incited to violence or hatred. That’s not free speech anymore.”

Even before October 7, 2023, “over half of Jewish students were hiding their Jewish identity on campus. Two in three Jewish students in Australia had experienced anti-Semitism on campus, a quarter of all Jewish students were avoiding campus altogether,” said Mr Burns.

“It has only gotten worse for Jewish students. This report outlines key recommendations that universities can implement straight away in order to make changes for day one of semester this year,” he said.

“This year, when students return to universities, they shouldn’t be fearful of what might happen to them,” he added.

“This is not the end of the matter. We are watching universities. It is up to them to act and to take this more seriously.”

Universities Australia CEO Luke Sheehy said the sector was “committed to addressing this scourge.”

“We’re working closely and regularly with government and community groups and a lot of this work aligns with the nature of what’s been recommended to government,” he said.

“The committee has done an important job and now we need to focus on action, which is what we’re doing.”

In January, the Queensland University of Technology was forced to defend an anti-racism symposium after anti-Semitism claims were made about some of the presentations during the event.

The Nightly contacted several universities for comment about the inquiry.

A Monash University spokesperson said it was reviewing the report in line with the many initiatives it had undertaken to respond in a “principled and decisive way” to rising anti-Semitism across the community.

The university is delivering specialised anti-Semitism training to all those in leadership positions and front line staff and has offered its training expertise to other universities.