Academic's antisemitic letter highlights university failures

Fourteen months ago, a secular Jewish academic from the University of Wollongong (UOW) received a "threatening" six-page typed letter full of antisemitic hatred with his name handwritten on the envelope.

The academic believed the letter, full of hateful conspiracy theories blaming Jewish people for all the world's ills, was sent to him purely because his name "sounds Jewish".

"Every time I go onto campus, I wondered to myself is there going to be someone waiting for me with an axe or a gun?" the academic, who asked to be known by the pseudonym ZR, told the ABC.

He reported it to police, but said there was no university process for reporting this antisemitism apart from a generic form used for workplace health concerns like spills in laboratories.

After the Bondi terror attack in December last year, he escalated his concerns but said UOW's response was so inadequate he lost his sense of safety and now worked remotely whenever possible.

Documentation between the academic and UOW from March this year, seen by the ABC, shows the university acknowledged an "unacceptable" delay in providing a personal protection plan that "added to the distress you have already been experiencing".

"Fourteen months have gone by, and I haven't heard from anybody in a leadership position. Nobody has picked up the phone to say are you OK? Do you need anything?" ZR said.

ZR has made a confidential witness statement to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, which is hearing a week of in-person evidence starting today from other academics and students about their lived experiences of antisemitism.

Individual universities, including some of the country's most prestigious campuses, known as the Group of Eight (Go8), will likely appear later in the week.

In a statement, UOW said it would "cooperate" with the royal commission and when necessary assist staff with personal protection plans and reports to police.

"For reasons of privacy and confidentiality we are not able to comment on individual cases, or on any communication with the royal commission," a spokesperson said.

"In matters raised with the university concerning antisemitic conduct, the university has responded in accordance with its processes and has made appropriate support available to impacted parties."

Universities' role post-October 7

Almost immediately after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, universities became flashpoints as Australians wrestled with the attack and Israel's response.

Vicki Thomson, chief executive of the Go8, said the "tensions and divisions evident across broader society played out on university campuses and attracted significant public attention".

As well as locations for protest, universities are unique workplaces where staff have academic freedom to comment on contentious topics in ways that might lead to dismissal elsewhere.

They also have responsibilities to keep staff and students safe and to abide by federal and state hate speech laws.

"Universities play a unique role in helping people engage constructively with difference, navigate disagreement and contribute to cohesive communities," Ms Thomson said.

The ABC understands several of the eight Go8 universities — including the Australian National University, the University of Sydney, the University of Melbourne and Monash University — may be called to appear later in the week.

These universities were the sites of the most contentious protest encampments in 2024, when students camped out on campus to protest the Gaza war and sometimes occupied buildings.

After the Bondi attack, the Go8 engaged Dr Alan Finkel, a Jewish neuroscientist and former chancellor of Monash University, to examine antisemitism on campuses and the action universities were taking to combat it.

That report found that while universities had made progress to address antisemitism since the peak of campus protests in 2024, more needed to be done.

"While many of the report's recommendations are directed at universities, it also highlights broader challenges for society, particularly in relation to social media, online behaviour and the amplification of harmful conduct," Ms Thomson said.

Dr Finkel will be called to appear at the royal commission to discuss the expert panel's report.

'Shameful abandonment of duty of care'

The Australian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS), also expected to appear before the commission, told the ABC many Jewish students remained fearful of attending campuses.

It highlighted instances of Jewish students being called "child-killers", "parasites" and subjected to chants of "death to Israel".

AUJS said students were missing out on campus experiences such as making new friends because they were being shunned and their social gatherings targeted.

"Unfortunately, we've also had a few new ones over the past months with social events, people seeking them out to disrupt them to shout really alarming and hurtful things," AUJS president and Monash University student Jeremy Suss said.

"There are a huge amount of students avoiding campus. There's a huge amount of students choosing to study online or moving to a university where they can do that more easily."

Mr Suss said while individual universities had made important reforms, he rated the wider sector's response to the concerns of Jewish students as "quite poor".

"We want reporting mechanisms to be better. We want these incidents to be dealt with smoother and [more] quickly and transparently. We want some of the existing restrictions to just be enforced."

The Australian Academic Alliance Against Antisemitism also rated the sector's overall performance as "poor".

"Jewish staff had to contend since October 7 with a hostile and intimidating environment, characterised both by overt acts that are hostile, but also an environment of posters, stickers, chants, people calling them names like 'you're genocidal, you're a baby-killer', just because they're wearing a Jewish star on their necklace," chief executive Alisa Pincus said.

Ms Pincus hoped the commission would lead to change.

"Universities need to figure out how to align the obligation to foster free speech and academic freedom and also to foster the wellbeing of students and staff," Ms Pincus said.

Simone Abel, the head of legal at the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, a peak body representing the Jewish community, has been involved in dealing directly with universities and regulators.

She said abusive and bullying conduct was rarely called out publicly or met with consequences.

"Even when universities take action against perpetrators, they tend to do so quietly and only after a protracted process," she said.

Ms Abel said universities had "become so enmeshed in their twisted interpretations of academic freedom and freedom of expression that they will not publicly condemn or even dissociate themselves from these overt expressions of racism".

"This is a betrayal of fundamental standards of intellectual integrity, and a shameful abandonment of the duty of care owed by universities to their students and staff."

Students for Palestine said its national co-convener Yasmine Johnson, who is Jewish, would appear before the commission to speak about the pro-Palestine movement on campus.

It said Ms Johnson helped organise the contentious University of Sydney protest encampment, and her appearance would open her to cross-examination.

"I'm going ... to give evidence that our pro-Palestine movement stands for justice, and against all forms of discrimination," Ms Johnson said.

Education minister foreshadows commission with crackdown on racism and governance

Education Minister Jason Clare has announced universities will have to adopt a new anti-racism standard with definitions of antisemitism, Islamophobia and racism towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Universities will also have to report to the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) on their progress implementing transparent complaints processes and increased security for staff and students.

"There is no place for antisemitism or any type of hate in our universities or anywhere else," Mr Clare said.

The minister said universities will also have to abide by corporate governance principles, like those enforced by the Australian Stock Exchange.

Universities will be forced to disclose spending on consultants, publish minutes and annual remuneration reports on vice-chancellor salaries.

"Anyone who doesn't think there have been some challenges in university governance has been living under a rock," Mr Clare said.

Universities to respond later in week

University leaders will have the opportunity to address those and other concerns later in the week when the commission shifts from lived experience to institutional responses.

In an all-staff email last week, University of Melbourne interim vice-chancellor Glyn Davis confirmed his university would appear before the commission.

"We are part of a national process to reflect, mourn, and then seek a renewed sense of trust and belonging for all," Professor Davis wrote.

The University of Sydney also told staff it would be appearing this week.

"Since the disbandment of the protest encampment on campus two years ago, we have taken definitive action including instigating a formal review and introducing significant reforms," a University of Sydney spokesperson said.

"We've seen the number of complaints related to antisemitism decline substantially from students, but we know there is still work to be done."

An ANU spokesperson said the university was committed to "engaging fully and constructively" with the royal commission.

"Our commitment is to provide a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for all members of the ANU community, while remaining a university where complex and difficult conversations can occur without fear, hatred or harm," the spokesperson said.

Monash University declined to comment.