Calls for urgent reform at Australian universities
Academic alliance says antisemitism is normalised and deeply embedded on campuses in submission to Royal Commission ahead of hearings on universities.
The Australian Academic Alliance Against Antisemitism (5A) has called for sweeping changes to how universities address antisemitism, lodging a submission to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion ahead of next week’s Melbourne hearings.
The submission warns there is no quick fix to counter what the group describes as normalised and deeply embedded antisemitism on university campuses, and that significant change will require resources and sustained leadership support.
5A CEO Alisa Pincus said, “While equality, inclusion and well-being are features of universities’ missions and values, many Jewish staff and students conceal their identities for fear of discrimination, retribution or exclusion.
“Intervention by university leaders is the rare exception, leading to a climate in which hostility, intimidation and the use of antisemitic tropes have been normalised.”
The submission recommends a scalable, evidence-based plan to help universities restore a safe and welcoming environment for Jewish staff and students, and calls on the federal government to appoint an expert group, ideally led by the Hon Robert French AC, to review the French Model Code on freedom of speech and academic freedom within 90 days.
It also urges universities to urgently adopt an antisemitism definition and embed it within codes, policies and procedures, backed by education programs informed by those with lived experience of antisemitism on campus.
A number of 5A academic members will give evidence to the Royal Commission during Hearing Block 4, which runs in Melbourne from July 13 to 17. Commissioner Virginia Bell has said the block will focus on the lived experiences of Jewish students and academics, institutional responses, and research into the nature and prevalence of campus antisemitism.
The submission follows a string of reports painting a bleak picture of Jewish life on Australian campuses. An independent assessment by emeritus professor Greg Craven, released in May, found no Australian university met the definitional requirements of the University Report Card process. Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal said at the time that adopting a definition was “absolutely essential” and accepted Craven’s conclusion that the failure represented a sector-wide systemic problem.
Recent data cited by the Australian Union of Jewish Students found 94 per cent of Jewish students have experienced antisemitism on campus.