Antisemitism a symptom of an increasingly polarised society, commission hears
Updated ,first published
Antisemitism consultant and former chief scientist Alan Finkel expressed doubts about whether students found guilty of misconduct would benefit from continued anonymity.
University of Melbourne physics professor Steven Prawer, whose office was invaded by 20 masked and chanting protesters in 2024, was never told the identities of the ringleaders, the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion heard on Monday.
The four students were found guilty of misconduct and suspended from the university, but Prawer said he did not know who they were and was afraid of unknowingly encountering them on campus.
Upon commissioner Virginia Bell reviewing the question, Finkel said: “I believe the veil of secrecy is probably overused, not just at universities but throughout our community, especially if someone is found to have violated a rule.
“It’s important not to overdo it.”
But he acknowledged that it was complicated; “especially when it comes to a young adult who is acting enthusiastically, has crossed a line, and has his whole life ahead of him.”
On the other hand, Finkel said it was “a no-brainer” for universities to annually report de-identified information about complaints.
Asked about Prawer’s case earlier this week, University of Melbourne vice-chancellor Glyn Davis said keeping the students’ names secret was a “difficult and balanced decision” by the university.
Australian Center for Jewish Civilization director David Slucki said he felt “really sorry” for vice-chancellors after a week of evidence at the royal commission into how universities handled the 2024 student camps and accusations of antisemitism.
The Monash University professor told the commission that trying to separate antisemitism from legitimate political criticism of Israel and its actions was not easy.
“A lot of people say: ‘Well, Zionism like that To me it’s Judaism’ and then other people say… ‘Zionism is not Judaism’ and [vice chancellors] I look at this and say, ‘How can I overcome this tension?’ you think.
Slucki, who helped develop Australian universities’ definition of anti-Semitic hatred, said antisemitism was a symptom of wider polarization in society fueled by social media “outrage”.
After two vice-chancellors apologized to the royal commission for failures during campus camps in 2024, Slucki told the commission that his group had developed a course on antisemitism that had already trained 1,700 university leaders.
“What I say at the beginning of every training is this: We are all watching the violence and events in the Middle East with great distress, and a lot of the anger, the trauma that we see comes from a place of hurt,” he said.
This was “true for Jewish staff and students who were traumatized as of October 7, 2023; it was also true for Palestinian and Muslim staff and students who were traumatized by the events they witnessed on a daily basis.”
“We don’t think it has to be either one or the other,” Slucki said.
“If we’re just solving antisemitism, we’re not solving antisemitism.”
Slucki told commissioner Virginia Bell that universities’ job is being made more difficult by social media algorithms.
“I think about the student who consumes a lot of information when they get to class at, say, 10 a.m.,” Slucki said.
“Everything they read on their social media feeds is designed to create anger, resentment and hostility, and that’s why students come to our campuses…often with exaggeration.”
The result is “kind of all-or-nothing thinking,” Slucki said.
“Not only do we disagree, but when we disagree with someone we see them as wrong, bad, or evil.”
Slucki was an important academic writer. Australian Universities definition of antisemitismThis decision was adopted by universities across the country following the Hamas attack on Israel and that country’s war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Definitions and policies are important, he told the commission, but “you’re not legislating your way out of social disharmony.” Cultural change was necessary in universities.
Part of that, he said, was understanding how Australian Jews were raised by Holocaust survivors. These were traumatized people, which is “a really powerful factor in why people are hypersensitive to antisemitism.”
He said university leaders don’t always know what’s causing the “anxiety, fear and worry that comes their way.”
He also emphasized that trauma and discrimination are not just an issue for Australian Jews.
“We think it’s really important that this type of work is done not only by us, but also to educate about Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism and racism towards First Nations people,” he said.
Dr Mary Russell, chief executive of the Commonwealth regulator the Higher Education Quality and Standards Agency, told the royal commission she was concerned about antisemitism on campuses during the camp period in mid-2024.
There was particular concern about the infiltration of campuses by “outside actors,” he said, because the dialogue between protesters and universities often ended when they arrived, resulting in a “much more heated, aggressive and … personalized dialogue.” [expressions] Against Jewish students and Jewish staff.”
Russell acknowledged that universities at the time were “quite reluctant to make a call” about what antisemitism was because they didn’t really understand it.
On Wednesday, University of NSW vice-chancellor Attila Brungs said there were three definitions of antisemitism in his books.
“I had not thought before this week’s debate that universities could use more than one definition,” Russell told the commission.
“Our expectation is that universities will be able to make very clear what is acceptable and what is unacceptable.” The regulator sought to formulate a statement of regulatory expectations to this effect.
Vice-chancellors of the ANU and the University of Sydney this week apologized for some of their actions during the camps and have since introduced education programmes, changed rules to ban camping and restricted the display of graffiti and posters.
Monash University vice-chancellor Sharon Pickering told the commission that she took stronger action against the protests after activists posted on social media that Zionists were not welcome on campus. He said this statement was not only not a defensible form of free speech, but would also cause offense and harm.
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Michael Bachelard is The Age’s senior writer and former deputy editor and research editor. He has worked in Canberra, Melbourne and Jakarta, written two books and won several awards for journalism, including the Gold Walkley.Connect with: X or email.
