Antisemitism at USYD

Jewish students march to call for Mark Scott’s resignation

'With a heavy heart, I now understand that Mark has no intention, genuine or otherwise, to fix the antisemitic crisis on our campus'

Students and supporters march at the University of Sydney on Friday, September 6, demanding vice chancellor Mark Scott's resignation. Photo: Gareth Narunsky
Students and supporters march at the University of Sydney on Friday, September 6, demanding vice chancellor Mark Scott's resignation. Photo: Gareth Narunsky

Members and supporters of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) held a rally on Friday to demand the resignation of University of Sydney vice chancellor Mark Scott.

The crowd marched with placards along the campus’ Eastern Avenue thoroughfare to the university’s administration building where speakers outlined how Scott’s inaction on antisemitism had led to Jewish students and staff feeling unsafe.

It followed Scott’s attempt to defend his record when giving evidence to NSW Budget Estimates on Wednesday.

“We first met with Mark Scott in early April before the [ostensibly pro-Palestinian] encampment. He was late, and after he left the room, his chief of staff had to apologise for his behaviour and his comments during the meeting and assure us that even though it didn’t come across, Mark definitely meant well,” AUJS vice-president Zac Morris said.

“You see, Mark had insisted that there was no issue with antisemitism at USYD, despite the litany of incident reports we had available that came disproportionately from his campus.”

He said that were it not for Scott’s “demonstrated lack of humility, we would not need to be here”.

“In the wake of the encampment, when trying to rebuild the bridges with the Jewish community that Mark Scott had burnt, the previous chancellor was shocked at the gravity of the situation,” he said.

“Mark Scott, you have lost the trust of the community. Mark Scott, you have demonstrated an inability and an unwillingness to rebuild that trust. Mark Scott, you have squandered the countless opportunities before this point to demonstrate that you have the ability to handle your responsibilities as Vice Chancellor.

“And that’s why Mark Scott we, as the Australasian union of Jewish students, call on you to resign.”

AUJS USD president Isaac Wine said the job of a vice chancellor is to ensure a safe environment for students and staff.

“Mark Scott has demonstrated time and time again that he is incapable of doing this,” he said.

“I do not trust Mark Scott. My Jewish friends do not trust Mark Scott, AUJS does not trust Mark Scott. The entire Jewish community does not trust Mark Scott.

“The university needs to do their job, and while Mark Scott is in office, that won’t happen. We won’t rest until Mark Scott is gone and the university is a safe space for Jewish students. We will be silent no longer.”

Jewish student Dror Liraz, who was born in Israel, said the last 11 months had seen “dangerous, hateful individuals crossing the limits of free speech on this campus with their calls for intifada, their continued use of offensive and sometimes illegal graffiti, and their labelling of my country of birth as a terrorist state”.

“I have witnessed and endured protests that call for the displacement and death of my 87 year old grandmother, a Jewish refugee from Iraq who fled lynchings, kidnappings and public hanging of Jews,” she said.

“This is not free speech, this is repetition of propaganda and the destruction of the essence of a university.”

She said concerns that chants for intifada cause fear and terror in Israelis and Jews were shut down.

“No one in the administration tried to seriously listen to our genuine concerns. We were not treated as threatened individuals. All we got were empty words and backs turned to us,” she said.

“Mark Scott knows exactly what our experiences have been. He knows the incidents, the posters, the grief, the pain, the doxxing, the chants, the flags, the graffiti, the students and staff leaving, the resolutions, the death threats.

“With a heavy heart, I now understand that Mark has no intention, genuine or otherwise, to fix the antisemitic crisis on our campus.”

93-year-old Holocaust survivor Egon Sonnenschein spoke of how 18 members of his immediate family were murdered by the Nazis.

“I’m devastated to see antisemitism explode in Australia since October 7, the hate speeches, the uncivilised behaviour, threats, shouting, obscenities against the Jews, hatred, intolerance, misinformation in the media, racism and antisemitism,” he said.

“A good, decisive and effective leadership should have nipped the above in the bud. University should be a place of learning and exchange of ideas in a civilised manner. It’s very disappointing to learn that Jewish staff and students were not safe attending the university.

“I never expected to experience antisemitism again in my lifetime. I’m upset. I’m worried. I’m disgusted. We should all feel safe.”

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