source : the age
Hatred of Jews has become a normalised part of campus life at Australian universities, the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has been told, as the commission prepares to shift to Melbourne for a week-long examination of the tertiary sector.
The royal commission, which has so far staged all its public hearings in Sydney, announced on Wednesday that it would sit in Melbourne from July 13 to accept testimony from Jewish students, university leaders and academic experts.
One of the students on the commission’s witness list, Australian Union of Jewish Students president Jeremy Suss, said it was important that antisemitism was not accepted as a part of university life.
“When Jewish students walk onto campus they are guarded,” Suss told this masthead. “When we have social events, we receive threats and people try to come and disrupt them. We have seen a culture take hold where people almost expect it.
“University should be a great time. It is a formative and enriching experience. We just want Jewish students, like any students, to be able to enjoy that and make the most of it.”
One of the most notorious episodes of antisemitism at an Australian university took place at the University of Melbourne in October 2024, shortly after the anniversary of the Hamas atrocities in southern Israel that prompted the war in Gaza, when keffiyeh-wearing, masked protesters barged into the office of a Jewish professor and plastered it with anti-Zionist slogans.
While concerns about antisemitism in universities peaked two years ago when 24-hour anti-Israel encampments were pitched on the lawns of the University of Melbourne, Monash University, RMIT, La Trobe, Deakin and campuses in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra, the AUJS in its submission to the royal commission warned that hatred of Jews had since become a “normalised feature of campus life”.
This is consistent with the findings of the Prime Minister’s special envoy on antisemitism, Jillian Segal, who last year urged the federal government to reduce funding for tertiary institutions that failed to address the problem.
The Melbourne-based president of the Zionist Federation of Australia, Jeremy Leibler, said the response of universities to antisemitism reflected weak leadership and unconscious bias. “The universities themselves would have to recognise there were a lot of mistakes made,” he said.
Leibler welcomed the decision to hold public hearings in Melbourne, which is home to Australia’s largest Jewish population. He said while the Bondi massacre had compelled the establishment of a royal commission, antisemitism manifested in many other ways, particularly in universities and progressive institutions.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion, KC, who also lives in Melbourne, said antisemitism in universities was a critical issue for Melbourne universities to address given their importance to the state economy.
He said Commissioner Virginia Bill last week visited Perth and Adelaide and had made clear her intention for the royal commission to broaden its focus beyond Sydney.
“In that context, the holding of hearings in Melbourne is a deliberate and positive choice,” he said.
Jewish Community Council of Victoria chief executive Naomi Levin said a sharp focus on universities was needed.
“It was not that long ago that local Jewish academics were targeted and threatened because of their identity, Jewish students were unable to study safely because of intimidating and vilifying behaviour, and the University of Melbourne was occupied and vandalised by protesters,” Levin said.
“Since then, much work has been done by university leaders to restore safety for all students and staff, including those who are Jewish, but significant challenges remain. Commissioner Bell is well placed to identify and address these challenges.”
Monash University, which is singled out in the Australian Union of Jewish Students submission for its effective response in stamping out a particular anti-Jewish chant on campus, has established a rapid research initiative into antisemitism, chaired by Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation associate professor David Slucki, to investigate causes and potential remedies for hatred of Jewish people in Australia.
Representatives from Monash and the University of Melbourne are expected to appear before the royal commission.
A University of Melbourne spokesperson said: “The University of Melbourne has engaged fully with the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. It has provided detailed responses to notices requesting information. Publication of this information is at the discretion of the commissioner.
“We reaffirm our commitment to a safe, inclusive and supportive environment for all and acknowledge the important work of the royal commission. As a diverse university community, we must come together and stand united in our continued efforts to eradicate hate and discrimination in all forms.”
A Monash University spokesperson declined to comment.
Jeremy Suss said the commission needed to hear from universities and scrutinise their testimony. “Some of them have taken good steps, and a lot of them have a lot further to go,” he said.
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Chip Le Grand leads our state politics reporting team. He previously served as the paper’s chief reporter and is a journalist of 30 years’ experience.Connect via email.
