Antisemitism inquiry turns uncomfortable lens on university protests

Australian universities, known for their history of activism, are now facing scrutiny over the conduct of pro-Palestine protests. A Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion heard disturbing accounts this week, painting an often "ugly" picture of activism that has allegedly crossed the line into racial and religious vilification.

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This is antisemitism, unambiguously. [It is the] conflation of the Jewish identity with the actions of a nation state.

Jewish students and staff shared their experiences of being individually targeted by activists who conflated their identity with the actions of the state of Israel. Melbourne University's acting vice-chancellor, Glyn Davis, acknowledged this as "unambiguously" antisemitism. However, for some in the Jewish community, these admissions came too late, as they had been raising alarms about rising antisemitism on campuses well before the 2024 protests.

Jeremy Leibler of the Zionist Federation of Australia detailed how he began voicing concerns to university leaders during the pandemic. He cited instances like a gay Jewish student being excluded from an LGBTQ+ group for being a "Zionist." Leibler emphasized that many Jewish students are progressive and critical of the Israeli government, but felt increasingly isolated and struggled to report incidents.

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I had examples of a gay law student at Melbourne University that was wearing Star of David around his neck and was told that they were not welcome in the LGBTQ+ group because they were a Zionist.

The Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) commissioned a survey revealing that 64 percent of Jewish students experienced antisemitism, with 57 percent reporting they hid their identities on campus. The commission heard that universities often lacked clear processes to address such conduct, with the term "racism" being complex when applied to antisemitism due to Jews being both a religion and a nationality.

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Criticism of Israel is entirely legitimate and, by the way, these kids are very comfortable having Israel as a state criticised. Most of these Jewish kids are very progressive, you know, left-wing Jews that are critical of the government.