Sydney Uni Vice-Chancellor apologises after staffer’s antisemitic tirade

University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor Mark Scott has personally apologised to Jewish students and staff after a university employee was filmed shouting antisemitic abuse during a peaceful Sukkot celebration on campus.

The confrontation unfolded on Gadigal Green on Wednesday afternoon, where members of the Australian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) had set up a sukkah to share Jewish traditions with other students.

The incident began when the staffer shouted “Free Palestine” at the group. Jewish academic Dr Sarah Aamidor said, “Everybody was shocked, and I said out loud, ‘This is a Jewish holiday and saying something like this is antisemitic.’”

The woman then approached the group and demanded, “Are you Zionists?” When the students told her, “Move on, this is a Jewish holiday,” she replied, “If you tell me you’re an anti-Zionist Jew, I have no problem with you. A Zionist is the lowest form of rubbish. Zionists are the most disgusting thing that has ever walked this earth.”

The exchange, recorded on video, shows Dr Aamidor and several students being targeted with abuse. Identifying herself as an “Indigenous Palestinian” and “a real Semite,” the woman shouted, “You are a filthy Zionist” and “You colonised us,” before turning to a security guard and saying, “Look at this rubbish, look at these parasites.”

The university later confirmed that the staff member had been suspended and that the incident had been referred to NSW Police.

In a private message seen by J-Wire, Vice-Chancellor Mark Scott told the university’s Jewish Chaplain, Rabbi Eli Feldman, that he was “very upset” by the incident.

“I am very upset with what I have seen this afternoon of the disturbance at the stall being run by some of our Jewish students,” Mr Scott wrote. “Civility is at the core of our values here. That display was distressing to watch and distressing for those who were there, I am sure. We have suspended the staff member tonight, reached out to staff and students involved and will review further. Please accept my apologies for what should have been a peaceful afternoon.”

The president of Sydney University’s Australasian Union of Jewish Students, Dror Liraz, was one of the students involved in Thursday’s incident. She said the students remained calm and disciplined throughout the confrontation.

“We’ve both done this before,” Liraz said, referring to herself and Dr Aamidor. “We knew what needed to happen, and that was to not say anything provocative. The only thing we could do was ask her to leave, because she chose to stop there and start shouting. This was the only way to show that it was purely her, not us.”

“We’ve had so many incidents in the past two years that were ignored or not acted upon,” said Dror “So we decided one person would always be on recording duty. We knew we might need proof, because in the past we simply weren’t believed.”

Rabbi Feldman, who helped run the event, said the Sukkot celebration had been a positive and welcoming occasion before it was interrupted.

“Sukkot is an important Jewish festival,” he said. “AUJS put a lot of effort into putting up a sukkah and invited me to come along as the Jewish chaplain at the university to bring the lulav and etrog and provide the opportunity for people to do the mitzvah. It was a lovely event. Jews engaged, and a number of non-Jews engaged as well. Particularly, a bunch of students from the Persian society came along, asked questions, and were positively engaged.”

He stressed the event was entirely religious and cultural, not political. “It was a very nice event, both for Jewish students as well as for curious non-Jews, sharing a little bit about the Jewish religion, traditions, and culture. It was not a political event. It was a Jewish religious and cultural event.”

According to Rabbi Feldman, the abuse began just as the celebration was ending. “Thankfully, this happened at the end, which was good because you did not want it to ruin the event,” he said. “The students were offering people passing by free Skittles and snacks for Sukkot. She came past and just started shouting.”

He said he saw and heard the shouting just as he was preparing to leave. “There was a security guard standing there, and I could see he was calling for reinforcements. Sarah was standing her ground. She was being abused verbally, and that was distressing, but she stood her ground remarkably.”

Rabbi Feldman later thanked the Vice-Chancellor for his swift response. “I was quite surprised to hear that it was a staff member because she was acting in a very undignified manner,” he said. “Many thanks to Mark and his team for taking immediate action. I look forward to us sharing happier tidings in the future.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry legal director Simone Abel said the footage had been reported to police. “This is the real face of antisemitism in Australia today. It hides behind an anti-Zionist mask,” she said.

“This woman aimed to intimidate, threaten, offend and humiliate a Jewish academic just because she was Jewish. She also used the blood libel in that she accused her of doing horrific things to children even though she (Sarah) is a woman who lives and works in Australia and has absolutely nothing to do with these purported allegations.”

A university spokesperson described the behaviour as “disturbing and appalling” and said support had been offered to the affected students and staff.

The incident has reignited concern about antisemitism on Australian campuses. Jewish leaders have called for stronger action to ensure universities are safe for Jewish students and academics and for clear consequences when hate speech crosses into harassment.

“Unfortunately, we’ve had a lot of practice (dealing with aggressive behaviour),” said Dror Liraz. “People tell me they couldn’t have stayed calm, but when you face this kind of thing repeatedly, you learn to hold your ground. It’s the only way to make people see this for what it is, pure antisemitism.”

As Rabbi Feldman put it, the day had begun as an expression of faith and inclusion but ended as a reminder of how fragile that sense of safety can be. “It was meant to be a joyful celebration of community,” he said. “It should never have turned into an attack on Jewish identity.”