The Jerusalem Post reported that thirty-nine Australian universities have adopted an official definition for anti-Semitism in order to coordinate their response to anti-Jewish activities on campuses.
By Rachel Avraham
The Jerusalem Post reported that thirty-nine Australian universities have adopted an official definition for anti-Semitism in order to coordinate their response to anti-Jewish activities on campuses. According to the report, the definition – closely aligned with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition – describes antisemitism as discrimination or harassment that “impedes Jews’ ability to participate as equals in educational, political, religious, cultural, economic or social life.”
ABC further reported that the definition asserts “criticism of Israel can be antisemitic when it is grounded in harmful tropes, stereotypes or assumptions and when it calls for the elimination of the State of Israel or all Jews or when it holds Jewish individuals or communities responsible for Israel’s actions. For most, but not all Jewish Australians, Zionism is a core part of their Jewish identity. Substituting the word ‘Zionist’ for ‘Jew’ does not eliminate the possibility of speech being antisemitic.”
In a statement to ABC, Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, stated: “Universities Australia’s definition is an important step to understanding anti-Semitism and places universities in a better position to respond to the concerns of Jewish students.” ABC claimed the antisemitism statement was drafted by leaders from the Group of Eight (GoE) — Australia’s largest universities — after consultation with Segal and the Jewish community. According to the report, the UA endorsement means the definition will now be swiftly adopted on campuses across Australia.
“It was always the intention of the Group of Eight to develop a definition of antisemitism that could be adopted across all Australians universities,” Go8 Chief Executive Vicki Thomson told ABC. “We consulted widely over many months and this definition represents our best efforts to achieve the delicate balance between adopting what is ostensibly an Australian version of IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) that can be operationalized in a university setting, while upholding academic freedom and associated obligations.”
According to the Jerusalem Post, Shadow Education Minister and Liberal Party Senator Sarah Henderson welcomed the move during an address at the 2025 Universities Australia Solutions Summit – but argued that the decision came too late. “So much damage has been done,” said Henderson, adding that if elected, her party would require all universities to adopt the “more robust” IHRA definition.
The Jerusalem Post noted that the antisemitism definition came in response to a recommendation from the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights. According to the report, the February inquiry into antisemitism at Australian universities report called for the adopting of a definition close to the IHRA proposal. The Jerusalem Post added that the committee found a “disturbing prevalence of antisemitism,” including “brazen” incidents that had gone unaddressed, resulting in Jewish students and staff feeling unsafe and hiding their identities.
Labor MP Josh Burns, chair of the parliamentary joint committee on human rights, told CBC: “Frankly, the vast majority of universities did not have the leadership or aptitude to stamping out anti-Semitism on campus. They ignored Jewish students. They ignored the requests of Jewish staff. They allowed too many anti-Semitic incidents to go unchecked.”
He was especially critical of Australian National University, who claimed during their disciplinary proceedings of an anti-Semitic incident that a Nazi salute did not take place, when it was actually filmed as taking place: “I am still unaware of why ANU came to that conclusion. I don’t feel that the evidence that they gave at the hearing was credible. The claim that you can have an unofficial Nazi salute and have it not actually be considered a Nazi salute does not appear credible to me. It is ludicrous.” In another instance, a campus protester who said “Hamas actually deserves our unconditional support,” had her expulsion from the university overturned via an appeal. According to MP Burns, “ANU is actually setting standards that say a student who openly supports a terror organization can be allowed to study at their university.”
The new Australian definition on anti-Semitism hopes to put an end to this situation where there is impunity to commit anti-Semitic hate crimes and many members of the Australian Jewish community claim that this definition is a pivotal step forward to addressing a systematic problem of anti-Semitism on Australian campuses. According to one of the submissions to the Commission of Inquiry into Anti-Semitism at Australian universities, “The Holocaust, not even a century ago, did not start with gas chambers and firing squads. It started with blood libels and the dehumanization of Jews, with propaganda deliberately spread through universities. The scenes at some Australian universities are reminiscent of Europe in the 1930s, where Jews started being targeted, boycotted and banned from participating in many aspects of daily life. Universities in Europe were in fact at the forefront of the indoctrination and propaganda efforts to turn ordinary citizens against Jews.”
The submission continues, “While the Holocaust commenced in 1939, it was in 1933 that “many student fraternities and other student groups already banned Jews and regularly protested against professors they believed did not support supposed traditional German values. Scholars who were Jewish or supported left-leaning parties struggled to find research and teaching positions in public, government-supported German universities and often worked in private ones instead.””
According to the submission, “Whilst of course in this case the Government is not specifically seeking to imbue this notion onto universities, many academics and teachers are poisoning the minds of impressionable young students against Jews, Israel and Zionism, which is having dire consequences for Jewish students attending universities in Australia. As a first generation Australian after my parents and grandparents left Poland in the early 1960s, I was brought up to believe, and it had been my experience, that I lived in multi-cultural Australia, the lucky country.”
The submission concludes, “The state of affairs for Jews in Australia since October 7th 2023 reminds me of what my grandparents would have experienced in 1930s Europe. This is a sad indictment on our ‘free country’. It has become more like, free, as long as you’re not a Jew. Let history serve as a warning of what can come if this environment of hate, discrimination and vilification is allowed to continue unchecked. Now is the time for strong action, not weasel words and university sanctioned anti-semitism under the guise of ‘free speech’ and a ‘right to protest’.”
