{"id":671189,"date":"2026-05-14T21:25:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T21:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/671189\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T21:25:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T21:25:16","slug":"australian-universities-may-be-forced-to-adopt-a-definition-of-antisemitism-to-address-sectoral-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/671189\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian universities may be forced to adopt a definition of antisemitism to address ‘sectoral failure’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every Australian university has failed to meaningfully enforce a definition of antisemitism, according to a controversial university report card assessment released today.<\/p>\n

“No Australian university assessed met the definitional requirements of the report card,” said Emeritus Professor Greg Craven, who audited universities on antisemitism.<\/p>\n

“Without a clear, adopted, and enforceable definition of antisemitism, efforts to combat hatred on campus are fundamentally compromised,” Professor Craven said.<\/p>\n

The report warned if further “sectoral failure” occurred over coming months education minister Jason Clare should consider serious penalties that could impact funding or even registration.<\/p>\n

\"Greg<\/p>\n

Emeritus Professor Greg Craven audited the universities. (Supplied: Linkedin)<\/p>\n

In a statement, Mr Clare said universities had until August to implement a definition of antisemitism as part of a broader set of efforts to tackle racism at universities.<\/p>\n

Those requirements are being designed in a separate Antisemitism Education Taskforce led by businessman and former university chancellor David Gonski.<\/p>\n

“We are making changes to the standards universities must meet to tackle antisemitism and other types of racism,” Mr Clare said.<\/p>\n

“That includes having a definition of antisemitism and other forms of racism, and policies and complaints processes to address it.”<\/p>\n

\"David<\/p>\n

A separate Antisemitism Education Taskforce is being led by former university chancellor David Gonski.<\/p>\n

Last year, ABC News revealed that Universities Australia (UA) had written a new definition of antisemitism that was endorsed by 39 universities.<\/a><\/p>\n

The UA definition said criticism of Israel, “is not in and of itself antisemitic” but could be if “grounded in harmful tropes, stereotypes or assumptions and when it calls for the elimination of the state of Israel\u2026 or when it holds Jewish individuals or communities responsible for Israel’s actions.”<\/p>\n

However, the report found not a single university had meaningfully adopted the definition by making it enforceable in formal university rules or regulations, among other failures.<\/p>\n

“It makes for sobering reading. His [Professor Craven’s] findings in relation to the adoption of a definition of antisemitism are deeply concerning,” antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal said.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

The National Territory Education Union said it “vehemently opposed” antisemitism but had concerns some definitions threatened academic freedom. (ABC News: Lucas Hill)<\/p>\n

“I remain convinced that the adoption of a definition of antisemitism is absolutely essential for combating antisemitism.”<\/p>\n

The report did single out five universities; The University of Canberra, Swinburne University of Technology, Southern Cross University, the University of Southern Queensland and Charles Darwin University as having made significant progress on enforcing a definition.<\/p>\n

However, it found antisemitism was still a “very serious problem” across Australian universities with Jewish academics having to decide if they want to “come out” as Jews.<\/p>\n

Professor Craven said this was not just “racist, bigoted, unethical and immoral” but “undermines their [universities] international viability as institutions of research and learning”.<\/p>\n

“Some Jewish academics ascribed elimination of their teaching loads and eventual non-renewal of their contracts as attributable to this silent antisemitism,” Professor Craven said.<\/p>\n

\"Jillian<\/p>\n

Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism in Australia Jillian Segal said the adoption of a definition of antisemitism is absolutely essential. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)<\/p>\n

“The opposition of the National Territory Education Union (NTEU) to any form of definition of antisemitism was a strong disincentive to seek industrial support.”<\/p>\n

Concerns about ‘academic freedom’<\/p>\n

In a statement, the NTEU said it “vehemently opposed” antisemitism but had concerns some definitions threatened academic freedom.<\/p>\n

“The claim the NTEU opposed any form of definition of antisemitism is categorically false. We will always stand against all forms of hatred and discrimination,” a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The report card commenced after complaints about protests on university campuses and claims Jewish staff and students felt unsafe.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0 (AAP Image: James Ross)<\/p>\n

“The NTEU opposes definitions of antisemitism that threaten academic freedom by preventing legitimate criticism or scholarly examination of Israel.”<\/p>\n

Professor Craven’s original brief was to provide report cards for individual universities, measured against four criteria \u2014 definition, training, complaints process and policy review.<\/p>\n

Is Australia facing an antisemitism crisis? The evidence is clear<\/a><\/p>\n

Since 7 October 2023 antisemitic incidents have increased in Australia, not only in number but in their extremity. This should be cause for alarm \u2014 so why are some trying to downplay the rise in antisemitism?<\/p>\n

He said the “sectoral failure” to meaningfully enforce a definition meant this was “impossible”.<\/p>\n

“Without such a basal definition as a criterion for judgement, it is impossible to assess such operational matters as dispute and complaint handling and programs to cultivate awareness of antisemitism,” Professor Craven said.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the Group of Eight (Go8), which represents Australia’s elite research universities, said it took the report “seriously”.<\/p>\n

“Any suggestion that universities are not doing enough to protect students and staff from harassment, intimidation or hate must be treated with urgency,” the statement read.<\/p>\n

It said it had established an independent expert committee to combat antisemitism that was examining the lived experiences of Jewish students and staff.<\/p>\n

“At the same time, universities operate in difficult and sometimes confronting environments. They are places of debate, protest and strong disagreement,” the statement read.<\/p>\n

“That does not excuse inaction, but it does mean that leadership requires constant judgement, clarity and courage \u2014 not just compliance.”<\/p>\n

It said it was working to address many of the issues raised but accepted, “there is more to do, and we accept scrutiny is part of that task”.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Universities Australia acknowledged the Special Envoy’s work saying antisemitism was “abhorrent” and had “no place in Australia’s universities”.<\/p>\n

“Universities Australia has, is and will continue working closely with the Special Envoy, Ms Jillian Segal AO, to combat antisemitism and we thank her for her engagement and guidance on this critical issue,” it read.<\/p>\n

“Jewish students and staff should feel safe, respected and supported on campus, and we recognise the hurt and distress many in the community have experienced.”<\/p>\n

It said Australia’s universities were committing to combating antisemitism and all forms of hatred and racism.<\/p>\n

“Universities across the country have strengthened policies, complaint pathways, support services, education programs and codes of conduct in response to instances of antisemitism on campuses.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A banner at the pro-Palestinian encampment at Monash University in 2024. (ABC News)<\/p>\n

In a statement, shadow education minister Julian Leeser said the universities “failure” on a definition was “pathetic” and “damning”.<\/p>\n

“This is an issue that should concern all Australians. History teaches us that what starts with the Jews never ends with Jews. Who is next?” Mr Leeser said.<\/p>\n

“We have seen 15 of our fellow Australians murdered on Bondi Beach because of their religion. That should be a massive concern to every decent person.”<\/p>\n

Mr Leeser said universities did not recognise they had an antisemitism problem and there needed to be a “cultural shift”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every Australian university has failed to meaningfully enforce a definition of antisemitism, according to a controversial university report…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":671190,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[313407,64,63,44,16876],"class_list":["post-671189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-antisemitism-report","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news","tag-universities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=671189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671189\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/671190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=671189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=671189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=671189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}