UNSW academic subjected to Nazi salutes in class, antisemitism commission hears | Royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion

A UNSW academic was subjected to a Nazi salute by students in his business class, the royal commission on anti-Semitism and social cohesion has heard.

The fourth block of hearings, taking place in Melbourne this week, examines the lived experiences of Jewish students and academics, including universities’ responses to tackling hate.

Crown commissioner Virginia Bell AC SC said Jewish witnesses had been subjected to “outrageous antisemitic attacks” after giving evidence of their experiences of antisemitism at previous hearings. AFP referral and fees.

On Monday, four academics and students testified under pseudonyms. One of them, identified as ACJ, said that four students gave him a Nazi salute in a business class for international students in 2024.

The teacher and PhD candidate at UNSW said: “My grandparents survived the Holocaust, the Nazis… they killed most of my family… And so when someone gives me the Nazi salute, it feels like they want to kill me.”

He said he wasn’t sure if the students knew he was Jewish, but his actions appeared clearly directed. The academic reached out to his superiors and stated that this was a crime and that he planned to go to the police. He said the students were initially given a formal warning and later suspended after NSW police conducted an investigation.

Another witness, appearing as Liat, moved to Canberra in 2022 to study at the Australian National University (ANU) and proudly describes herself as a Zionist, having both parents been born in Israel.

After the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, he said he lost the vast majority of his non-Jewish friends, including being told “we are not friends anymore, you are a Zionist” at a university event.

“I was very surprised and deeply hurt… Most of the people who were my friends at the time stopped talking to me altogether,” he said.

He described an increase in antisemitism on campus after 2023, including students in the ANU’s pro-Palestinian camp being called “baby killers” and “genocide supporters”.

Liat said that it is possible to criticize Israel without being an anti-Semite, but he has not seen “examples accusing Israel of doing something without playing with these values.” [antisemitic] tropes”.

He said there was a “pattern of drift” in the ANU’s response to students’ concerns, and that when he and others reported incidents of antisemitism, including Nazi gestures, the university “either did nothing or responded too late… did not fix anything”.

A Jewish and Israeli graduate student at the University of Melbourne who used the pseudonym ACL told the royal commission that he did not feel the need to hide his identity until after the October 7 attacks. But this brought new anxiety, and for the first time in his life, he decided not to wear Magen David, which means “shield” or “protector” in Hebrew, on campus.

“I felt like I couldn’t be Jewish on campus. I felt like I had to hide my identity,” she said through tears. “Every time I went to class, I was literally stripping myself of my Jewish identity.”

A lecturer once told a small group of students, including himself, that an academic was a “good Jew” because they were “not Zionists.” He said he had no problem with criticism of Israel but opposed “broad statements” about the Middle East.

Zelie Heger SC, counsel assisting the royal commission, said it was a “recurring theme” that Jewish staff and students were assumed to take a particular position on the Middle East despite “differing views” in society.

“Many Jews oppose the actions of the Israeli government,” he said. “No one doubts the importance of being able to discuss the conflict in the Middle East.

“But I predict the evidence will show that there are cases where protests on these issues cross the line.”

Australian universities will be required to adopt definitions of antisemitism, Islamophobia and racism towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from next year under a legally enforceable standard designed to eliminate discrimination on campuses.

Also on Monday were Yasmine Johnson, a co-convener of Students for Palestine and education officer for the National Union of Students; Hugh de Kretser, chairman of the Australian Human Rights Commission; and Josh Keller of the Australian Academic Alliance Against Antisemitism.