‘Progressive except for Jews’ on campus

The political Left has become the principal source of antisemitism on Australian university campuses, with 84 per cent of Jewish students and staff identifying progressive groups as the main perpetrators.

That’s according to Professor Philip Mendes, Director of the Social Inclusion and Social Policy Research Unit at Monash University, who was speaking at a B’nai B’rith Armchair Society event on Tuesday.

He warned of an “unprecedented outbreak of antisemitic hatred within Australian society, most prominently within universities” since October 2023.

Professor Mendes argued that many progressives have adopted what he termed a “Progressive except for Jews” position, which he compared to what 19th century German Socialist leader Bebel famously called the “Socialism of Fools”.

The academic identified the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement as a key driver of campus antisemitism, stating it “essentialises not only all Israeli Jews, but also all Jews anywhere who identify with the State of Israel” as “evil oppressors to be targeted and attacked as the political enemy.”