Universities under pressure from MPs to adopt antisemitism definition
By Angus Thompson
Jewish MPs are calling on all Australian universities to adopt a politically contested definition of antisemitism that some of the nation’s major academic institutions rejected months before the Gaza conflict broke out.
Liberal backbencher Julian Leeser and Labor MP Josh Burns said it “beggars belief” that only a handful of universities had incorporated the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism into their policies.
Jewish Australian parliamentarians Julian Leeser and Josh Burns are calling on all universities to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“It underscores the failure of the university sector to recognise the particularity of antisemitism and its modern manifestations,” Leeser said. “The fact that universities have not signed up to the IHRA definition is a symptom of the broader problems of antisemitism we are seeing on campus across this country.”
The alliance defines antisemitism as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews”.
The definition lists several examples of antisemitism, including “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis”.
While the alliance does go on to say that “criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic”, the definition has been contested in several countries by those who argue it enables institutions to shut down criticism of the Israeli government.
The definition was last month incorporated into a bill passed by the US House of Representatives to combat antisemitism, provoking outcry from civil libertarians amid widespread campus protests sparked by the war.
Scott Morrison’s government formally endorsed the definition in 2021, and both major political parties in Australia still back it, but it is not built into any Australian legislation.
The definition has been used by police in more than 40 nations to train police in antisemitic motives and by universities and schools to identify the ancient hatred.
The University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, Monash University and University of NSW have adopted or referenced the definition after lobbying from Leeser, Burns and independent MP Allegra Spender in 2022.
A University of Melbourne spokesperson said the development of a definition of Islamophobia “in consultation with our Muslim students and staff” was also in train.
Many universities have struggled to respond to pro-Palestinian tent protests on campus grounds, seeking legal advice about orders to take down signs and sending police in to remove encampments.
The open letter to vice-chancellors from the MPs prompted the Greens to issue their own, urging universities to reject the definition, which they said could prevent legitimate criticism of Israel and silence pro-Palestinian voices.
Most Australian tertiary institutions, including Australian National University and Adelaide University, decided not to incorporate the definition into their policies when petitioned early last year, several months before the October 7 attacks in Israel that killed 1200 people, according to the Israel Defence Forces. Gazan health authorities report more than 36,000 people have died during the subsequence invasion of the strip.
An ANU spokesperson responded to questions by citing a March 2023 statement from the university saying the institution had examined the alliance definition before making its decision.
Pro-Palestine protesters at a University of Melbourne rally last month.Credit: Darrian Traynor
“After extensive due diligence, the university’s view is that it has sufficient protections and measures in place to help prevent and respond to any form of discrimination within its existing policies and procedures,” the statement said.
Adelaide University also referred to a statement in April 2023 in which it condemned antisemitism while also rejecting the adoption of the definition.
Burns said current vague policies about dealing with racism and discrimination on campus were “no substitute for a deeper understanding” of antisemitism.
“Universities, if they haven’t adopted IHRA’s definition, should be taking this moment to consider their position,” he said.
The National Tertiary Education Union told this masthead that while it strongly opposed antisemitism and all forms of racism, it “believes the IHRA definition of antisemitism at Australian universities has the potential to be misused to restrict academic freedom”.
The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network says the language of the definition is too vague and stifles legitimate criticism of Israel.
US lawyer Kenneth Stern, who drafted the definition adopted by the alliance in 2016, raised concerns in 2019 it was being used by conservative groups to suppress criticism of Israel.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance consists of 35 member countries that advocate on Holocaust-related issues.
A spokesperson for the Greens said the party agreed with Stern. “Many Jewish voices have raised very real concerns that turning this into an enforceable code could restrict academic and student criticism of Israeli government policies,” the spokesperson said.
Burns denied that the definition curtailed academic freedom, adding the universities who had adopted it, such as the University of Melbourne, were defenders of academic debate, and both concepts were not mutually exclusive.
Leeser questioned if the definition was “good enough for Melbourne and Monash, why isn’t it good enough for the rest?”
He added: “This argument again shows universities are simply not taking antisemitism seriously.”
A spokesperson for Monash University said it had drawn on the definition while also noting caveats recommended by the UK home affairs parliamentary committee that state it isn’t antisemitic to criticise the government of Israel, nor to hold the Israeli government to the same standard as other liberal democracies.
A spokesperson for the University of Sydney said it had adopted a similar approach.
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correction
An earlier version referred to the Australia Palestinian Action Network, it has been corrected to the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network