Antisemitism on campus
A nationwide survey of Australian university students has revealed widespread antisemitism on Australian university campuses.
The survey report, released today, reveals that 64 per cent of Australian Jewish university students have experienced antisemitism at university. One-in-five Jewish students have avoided campus to avoid antisemitism. And over half have hidden their Jewish identity at university for the same reason.
Approximately one in fourteen Jewish university students took part in the survey.
The survey was carried out by the Social Research Centre. It was commissioned by the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) and the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA), and financially supported by the Scanlon Foundation.
ZFA President Jeremy Leibler said, “These results should be met with alarm by Australian universities and the government. For years, Jewish student claims about antisemitism on campus have largely been falling on deaf ears. This survey is a wake-up call. It is unconscionable that over half of Australia’s Jewish university students have felt they had to hide their identity in order to protect themselves. We are calling on the Albanese Government to establish a working group to assess what actions universities and state and federal governments should take on this appalling situation.”
AUJS President Alissa Foster said, “The results of the survey reinforce what I hear daily as president of AUJS. Jewish students are facing antisemitism on campus, they are concealing their identity and our universities have been failing Jewish students. I sincerely hope decision makers sit down with this data and reflect on the severity of the problem. Jewish students deserve to feel that they are seen, heard and represented on campus, and as concerning as these results are, I believe they must be used to start a long-overdue conversation.”
Scanlon Foundation CEO Anthea Hancocks said, “The Scanlon Foundation recognises the very insidious impact that antisemitism, and discrimination more broadly, can have on the ability for individuals to trust others and institutions. Discrimination for the individual victim undermines their sense of worth and their ability to fully participate in our society. This survey has provided insights into the extent and impact of antisemitism in universities. It is essential that we use this information to reflect on our systems and responses to negative experiences and make changes to create more accepting and welcoming environments.”
One student who called himself an Anonymous Radical Left Jew told J-Wire of his experiences of antisemitic interactions.
He said: “I would say probably the most frequent antisemitic interaction I’ve had… would be just walking down the main street of campus Eastern Avenue being called a kike and dirty Jew and a Jewish pig by members of the Socialist Alternative. They were actually standing behind their stall on Eastern Avenue at the time.
We’ve always got to be careful. Whenever we have Jewish events on campus, make sure that we’re right in front of CCTV cameras. We’ve been explicitly told by the campus that we need to be.”
All they’re really trying to do is to promote hatred of Jews, because if the opposite was true, if they were really trying to have a dialogue that was moving things towards peace, they wouldn’t be calling people racial slurs as they walked down the street.”
“In addition to this, there have been racist practices within the student union and the Students Representative Council. That is, including what’s happening with certain lecturers who are well documented for the racism against Jewish students. So this is an issue across the spectrum of the university.”
Another student told us: “In one incident, I told a tutor that I could not present on one of the presentation days as it was Rosh Hashanah, but could present on the first or the last day. The tutor, instead of agreeing, asked the class if anyone else could not present that day. An Aboriginal student said she could not as she had a cultural camp on. Instead of letting both of us present on the first or third date, he asked us to debate whose cultural event was more important to see who would get the day off even though there was a classroom of people who could have presented that day. I refused to debate the matter, and after the class, I reported him to the unit coordinator, who said “he wasn’t being racist he just wasn’t aware of protocol.”
