Universities ‘toxic’ for Jewish students, inquiry finds

Universities have become toxic for Jewish students and staff, a parliamentary inquiry has found, releasing its findings early ahead of the the first semester.

A “toxic” environment has allowed anti-Semitism to fester and escalate at Australian universities, with a parliamentary inquiry calling for practices at higher education institutions to be reviewed.

Chair of the parliamentary committee which investigated antisemitism at universities, Labor MP Josh Burns, released the report on Wednesday.

The inquiry released its report – which contains 10 recommendations – early so universities have access to them before the start of the first semester of 2025.

The inquiry found while universities have differed in their response to anti-Semitism on campus, the rise in prejudice has been “exacerbated by the reluctance of some university administrations to enforce meaningful consequences or show proactive leadership”.

“This has allowed a toxic environment to escalate and has resulted in a lack of trust between the Jewish community and university institutions,” the report reads.

Universities were found to have inadequate policies and must simplify their complaints policies to encourage increased student reporting, the inquiry found.

The committee also recommends universities publish de-identified complaints reports to improve transparency.

Efforts to fight anti-Semitism should be guided by the lived experience of Jewish students and staff.

The report calls for universities to adopt a clear definition of anti-Semitism that closely aligns with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition.

It urges government and the National Student Ombudsman review the implementation of the recommendations and university practices to reduce anti-Semitism within 12 months of the report’s release.

Mr Burns, who is Jewish, said universities must act now.

“There has been progress. We are seeing an improvement in attitudes by some university leaders … however significant reform is still needed so that Jewish students and staff are safe on campus,” he told parliament.

Coalition members on the inquiry noted the evidence showed an “alarming and abhorrent rise” in anti-Semitism among students and staff at universities across the country.

“After extended inaction … Jewish Australians deserve immediate and concrete measures from this federal government rather than continued delays that allow anti-Semitism to continue to fester within our universities,” the comments read.

The coalition members maintain a full-time judicial inquiry is the only way to “forensically examine and address the crisis”.

Education Minister Jason Clare has previously labelled the Australian National University’s reinstatement of a student who declared unconditional support for Hamas, inappropriate.

The student successfully had her expulsion overturned on appeal after she called for people to back the designated terrorist group after its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

The Albanese government has faced intense criticism over its management of escalating anti-Semitic incidents in Australia.

A synagogue and childcare centre have been firebombed, in addition to antisemitic slurs painted on buildings and cars in an increasing number of attacks since December.

The Australian has reported that Macquarie University in Sydney is to provide a “safe room” for Jewish students.

The Zionist Federation of Australia’s CEO Alon Cassutto said: “This is a first step into fixing the systemic scourge of Jew-hatred on our campuses, and we welcome how seriously the committee is taking the issue. The proof that antisemitism is being taken seriously at universities will be in action, and not just words.

We cannot be lulled into thinking antisemitism on campuses is going to magically disappear, and it’s incumbent on the government and senior university leadership to ensure Jewish students and staff are safe.

It’s clear that there has been a failure of leadership and a lack of engagement with Jewish students at many universities, and holding senior leadership to account will be crucial if we are serious about fixing the antisemitism crisis.

Under no circumstances can Jewish students and staff return to campuses where they are told to “f**k off,” extremist groups are allowed on campus to incite hatred, and protestors call for Jews to be barred from campuses.

The ZFA has been advocating for years that many Jewish students have been telling us they have no confidence in the university complaints system; fixing this will go a long way to ensure they feel seen, heard, and their experiences are not being undermined or minimised.

The committee has recognised that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism is the standard, and we continue to urge all universities to adopt the definition in line with the Australian Government.

While a judicial inquiry should have been established from the outset, we welcome that it remains the next step if universities continue to fail their Jewish students and staff.”

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s co-CEO, Peter Wertheim, commented: “We now have a second parliamentary report which confirms what the Jewish community, students and academic staff have been saying for more than a year, namely that there has been an enormous increase in antisemitic behaviour at many Australian universities and that the response of most university administrations has been hopelessly inadequate.

Many of the recommendations about the need to streamline complaints processes, reporting of complaints and training of staff to identify and deal with antisemitism are welcome, as is the recommendation about expanding the powers of TEQSA to enforce compliance with higher education and student safety and well-being standards.

We would also like to have seen a recommendation about the need for a proper investigation into persistent reports about foreign government funding and interference in Australian universities.

“While the report identifies the correct issues, some of the recommendations are expressed in less forthright language than we think the situation calls for.

The report is correct in recommending that universities need to adopt a clear definition of antisemitism, which ‘aligns closely’ with the International Holocaust Working Alliance (IHRA) working definition. Whilst we would have preferred a straightforward recommendation that the IHRA definition be adopted, the committee has impliedly repudiated the definition of antisemitism recently adopted by the Group of 8 universities, which sharply diverges from the IHRA definition, and has been debunked and rejected by the Jewish community.

“Another important recommendation points to the need to amend the Fair Work Act so as to over-ride enterprise bargaining agreements to the extent that they currently prohibit  universities from sacking or disciplining academics or research grant recipients who engage in egregious public acts of racial vilification and other forms of vilification, including through publication of antisemitic content.  However, the report recommends only that the government ‘consider’ doing this, rather than actually doing it, which seems weak in the circumstances.

We welcome the recommendation that a judicial inquiry be kept on the table as a possible future measure if universities do not clean up their act in the next 12 months.”