{"id":542327,"date":"2026-07-15T07:50:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T07:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/542327\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T07:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T07:50:08","slug":"how-can-universities-better-protect-students-and-staff-from-antisemitism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/542327\/","title":{"rendered":"How can universities better protect students and staff from antisemitism?"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week, the royal commission into antisemitism<\/a> has heard repeated accounts<\/a> from Jewish university staff and students about antisemitic incidents on Australian campuses. Many have described feeling let down<\/a> by their institution\u2019s response. <\/p>\n

Australian National University student Liat<\/a> said she was regularly called a \u201cbaby killer and genocide supporter\u201d by protesters in the wake of Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza. <\/p>\n

In 2024, University of Melbourne professor Steven Prawer\u2019s office<\/a> was taken over by protesters, some of them masked, due to his research partnership with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. <\/p>\n

On Wednesday, leaders of the universities of Melbourne and Sydney and University of NSW appeared before the commission. Glyn Davis, Melbourne University interim vice chancellor, said management felt \u201cdeep despair\u201d about antisemitic incidents occurring on campus. <\/p>\n

How can universities better protect students and staff?<\/p>\n

Read more:
\n \u2018Not met their duty of care\u2019: new report finds racism is widespread at Australian unis<\/a><\/p>\n

A new standard<\/p>\n

On Monday, the federal government announced universities will be required<\/a> to adopt definitions on antisemitism, Islamophobia and racism towards Aboriginal people from next year.<\/p>\n

They will also need<\/a> to ensure \u201ctransparent complaints processes\u201d.<\/p>\n

This formal anti-racism standard was part of the government\u2019s antisemitism response to the 2025 Bondi massacre. It was also recommended by the Human Rights Commission\u2019s 2026 report on racism in universities.<\/p>\n

In February, the commission found<\/a> about 80% of surveyed Jewish students and staff said they experienced racism at university (this was alongside similar reports from Indigenous, Chinese, African and Middle Easterns students and staff). <\/p>\n

The commission also recommended better training for staff and students to recognise racism and clearer complaints processes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What are unis doing already?<\/p>\n

Universities around Australia have also introduced other recent measures<\/a>. <\/p>\n

This includes anti-racism training modules for first year students, changes to protest rules<\/a> and streamlined complaints processes. <\/p>\n

Davis told the royal commission on Wednesday<\/a> the University of Melbourne had developed a website to act as a \u201csingle front door\u201d for students and staff to make complaints.<\/p>\n

Some universities have also installed new security systems and safe rooms<\/a> for Jewish students.<\/p>\n

Some universities are conducting research to better understand discrimination on campus. Monash University is examining<\/a> the experiences of Jewish, Muslim, Arab, Israeli and Palestinian students and staff in order to develop practical recommendations.<\/p>\n

What does the research say can help?<\/p>\n

Research does not point to a single solution for reducing hate on campus. <\/p>\n

As is often the case in the social sciences, we do not have one proven recipe for success. <\/p>\n

But we can rely on a range of useful clues about which approaches are most likely to help and where universities should focus their efforts.<\/p>\n

Clear policies and definitions<\/p>\n

Research on university anti-harassment policies<\/a> suggests institutions with more detailed policies provide better guidance on unacceptable behaviour and reporting processes. <\/p>\n

However, the quality of policies still varies widely.<\/p>\n

However, evidence also shows<\/a> policies alone rarely change behaviour. They are more likely to be effective when combined with other initiatives, such as staff training, visible leadership, clear reporting processes and consistent enforcement.<\/p>\n

Easy reporting and transparent complaints<\/p>\n

Research suggests many students never report discrimination<\/a> because they fear they will not be believed or nothing will change. <\/p>\n

Reporting might increase when complaints processes are easy to access, investigations are timely, and universities communicate clearly about how complaints are handled and resolved.<\/p>\n

Training that goes beyond \u2018awareness\u2019<\/p>\n

Training can improve awareness of discrimination, but its effects are often modest. <\/p>\n

Research suggests<\/a> one-off online training has limited long-term impact.<\/p>\n

More effective programs included repeated sessions, discussion, practical scenarios and opportunities to practise responding to discrimination in everyday situations.<\/p>\n

Student involvement<\/p>\n

Studies also tell us universities develop better policies when students help design them<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Involving students in developing policies, services and support leads to solutions that better reflect their experiences, strengthen trust and improve engagement with university initiatives.<\/p>\n

Supporting dialogue while protecting safety<\/p>\n

Universities have a responsibility<\/a> to protect both freedom of expression and the safety of students and staff. <\/p>\n

Legal and policy experts argue<\/a> these goals are compatible. <\/p>\n

Clear rules that distinguish protected speech from harassment, intimidation and threats can help support open debate, while also protecting people from harmful behaviour.<\/p>\n

Using evidence<\/p>\n

Most universities collect data on students\u2019 experiences of discrimination. This allows them to identify emerging problems, evaluate whether new policies are working and adapt their approach. <\/p>\n

Universities should take an evidence-based approach to tackling hate on campus, rather than relying on assumptions.<\/p>\n

What else do we need to consider?<\/p>\n

Many of the issues debated on campus are also at the centre of political and cultural conflict. <\/p>\n

This includes antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, misogyny, transphobia and other forms of hate. For many people, these are not abstract debates. They are about who they are, whether they belong and whether they feel safe.<\/p>\n

These tensions do not begin on campus. Our studies on anti-trans<\/a>, anti-immigrant<\/a>, anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate<\/a> suggest hate is shaped by factors such as wars overseas, online polarisation, misinformation, inflammatory political leaders, economic uncertainty and growing frustration with governments\u2019 ability to solve major problems. <\/p>\n

So universities find themselves dealing with conflicts that reflect wider changes in society. There are no simple answers. But universities can help students learn an essential democratic skill: how to disagree well. <\/p>\n

People can hold different political views, identities, or different understandings of conflicts such as Israel and Palestine, while still treating each other with respect, working together and recognising that no single identity defines a person. That may be one of the most important lessons a university can teach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This week, the royal commission into antisemitism has heard repeated accounts from Jewish university staff and students about…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":542328,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":["post-542327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=542327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/542328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=542327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=542327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}