Sydney Uni academic stood down, investigated by cops over ‘execute Zionists’ post

A University of Sydney academic has been stood down after he tweeted that he wanted Zionists “executed”, with police also confirming they are investigating his comments.

Biology academic Fahad Ali, who posted on X he wanted Zionists “executed”, has been stood down by the University of Sydney.

A University of Sydney academic has been stood down after he tweeted that he wanted Zionists “executed”, with police also confirming they are investigating his comments.

Palestinian activist Fahad Ali, who teaches biology in the university’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences, drew widespread condemnation from his employer and Jewish leaders when he took to X on Thursday and wrote: “F**k sanctions, I want Zionists executed like we executed Nazis”.

On Saturday, a University of Sydney spokeswoman said management had stood down Mr Ali.

“We’re deeply disturbed by comments made by one of our casual academic staff, we find them utterly unacceptable and we’re taking immediate action, including suspending his employment pending further assessment,” she said.

One of Mr Ali's online posts.

“Hate speech has no place at our university and we have no hesitation in taking disciplinary action when our codes of conduct are breached.

“Support is available for every member of our community who may need it”.

A NSW Police spokesman also confirmed it was investigating Mr Ali’s comments, saying the agency took any alleged hate crimes “seriously”.

“The matter has been reported to police, who have commenced an investigation into the post,” he said.

“The NSW Police Force takes hate crimes seriously and encourages anyone who is the victim of a hate crime or witnesses a hate crime to report the matter to police.

“It is important that the community and police continue to work together to make NSW a safer place for everyone.”

Mr Ali’s comments were reported to police via a member of the public online and the complaint will likely be allocated to Inner West Police Area Command given the university’s location.

Australia’s top Jewish body, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, wrote to the University of Sydney to make an official complaint about Mr Ali’s posts.

“Mr Ali has a long history of posting … However, his social media posts from (Thursday) represent an escalation in that they call for violence against Jews and Israelis,” the council’s head of legal Simone Abel wrote in the complaint.

“Mr Ali should be required to apologise publicly and to retract these posts.”

Meanwhile, more posts of Mr Ali’s targeting Israel emerged, including one in which he wrote: “Israel has a right to stop existing”.

He also previously posted online detailing how he brought his politics into his classrooms while teaching biology.

“I began my class by telling students I was Palestinian, I explained why I wore my keffiyeh all semester, I gave a brief overview of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, and I encourage them to learn more about the situation, I asked for a moment of silence for the many tens of thousands of dead,” he wrote.

Mr Ali’s comments come after the University of Sydney’s leaders have repeatedly stated they wanted to manage the issue of the Israel-Palestine conflict better on their campus.

“If students have felt unsafe or unwelcome, if that is their lived experience, if that is their testimony, we have failed them,” Vice-chancellor Professor Mark Scott previously said.

Originally published as Sydney Uni academic stood down, investigated by cops over ‘execute Zionists’ post