Anti-Semitism Royal Commission: Universities accused of letting hate flourish
An advocacy group has accused universities of allowing hate to flourish on their campuses as the royal commission hears from the tertiary education sector.
Universities have been accused of letting hate run unfettered on their campuses, as a royal commission into anti-Semitism continues to hear from the tertiary education sector.
The Australia Israel and Jewish Affairs Council says university leadership allowed anti-Semitism to flourish almost unchecked.
“The harrowing testimony of Jewish students and staff, together with the evidence of several university vice chancellors, has laid bare systematic failures of university leadership,” the council said in a statement.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“These hearings should be a watershed moment. Australian universities should finally accept responsibility and accountability for their failures and commit to the meaningful reforms.”
The statement comes as university officials grapple with how academic freedom and the right to protest were allowed amid the increasing tensions of the war in Gaza.
Friday is the final day during which universities will be under the royal commission’s microscope in a long-running conversation about the difference between anti-Semitism and legitimate criticism of the Israeli government.
Witnesses will include Monash University’s David Slucki, who will build on the evidence given by vice chancellor Sharon Pickering on Tuesday.
Monash took a stricter route than most universities in cracking down on pro-Palestine encampments. Several external protesters were expelled from campus and chants were banned.
“I don’t think I had sufficiently appreciated before how thinly buried anti-Semitism was in our society, and how quickly it was unleashed,” Professor Pickering told the commission.
“Jewish students (were) feeling that they were being held individually responsible for the acts of the state of Israel, in one version or another.”
Other witnesses will include Jasmina Joldic, the Department of Education’s deputy secretary for higher education, and Alan Finkel, who chairs the Group of Eight Expert Advisory Committee on combatting anti-Semitism.
They are expected to give overviews on what the education sector as a whole has done to stamp out hate speech.
