‘Hamas rape hoax’ academic Sujatha Fernandes’s $240,800 taxpayer grant furore

A professor, disciplined by the University of Sydney for calling Hamas’s rapes and sexual violence a ‘hoax’, is the beneficiary of a $240,800 taxpayer-funded grant, drawing the ire of female Jewish leaders and the Coalition.

A sociology professor disciplined by the University of Sydney for calling Hamas’s rape and sexual violence a “hoax” is the beneficiary of an almost $250,000 taxpayer-funded grant to research “worker consciousness” and migrant ­labour, as well as “mentor early ­career scholars”.

The Australian in Aug­ust revealed how Sujatha Fernandes had been “disciplined” by the university after breaching standards in April during a lecture to first-year students where she called Hamas’s mass rape and sexual ­violence “fake news and a media-created “hoax”.

Sydney University vice-chancellor Mark Scott defended his record since October 7 amid a “challenging and complex year”, as Jewish students on Friday demanded his resignation.

The grant revelation drew the ire of female Jewish leaders and the Coalition, who called for the Australian Research Council to investigate the $240,800 grant, given the university’s action against Professor Fernandes, and to enforce stricter guidelines on ­recipients.

National Council of Jewish Women Australia national president Lynda Ben-Menashe said Jewish women appeared to be less believed than other female voices.

“Despite eyewitness and first responder reports, and the UN finding that (rapes, gang rape) were committed on October 7, there has been a trend among some self-proclaimed feminist academics in Australia to #believeall women, unless they are Jewish,” she said. Ms Ben-Menashe said it was inconceivable the university had yet to disclose exactly what action it had taken and that a staff member who breached its code received such significant funding.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry was one of several complainants to the university over Professor Fernandes’s comments and head of legal, Simone Abel, said it had sought to discuss the issue with the university.

“At the very same time as an ombudsman is being set up to address sexual violence on campuses as a result of students reporting that their complaints were ignored, minimised or denied, it is confronting to see lecturers publicly denying documented evidence of systemic rape on October 7,” Ms Abel said.

National Council of Jewish Women Australia national president Lynda Ben-Menashe.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry head of legal Simone Abel

She said in the wake of Professor Fernandes’s comments, grant allocations should be reviewed and “tougher requirements” imposed to ensure recipients adhered to stricter guidelines.

“Where that condition is not met, then grant funds should be returned,” she said.

The university found Professor Fernandes’s conduct “fell below the university’s expectations” and said disciplinary action would be taken together with measures to “mitigate risk of recurrence”.

In April, Professor Fernandes said: “Western media has played the role of an ideological state ­apparatus by suppressing coverage of the atrocities, ­peddling fake news (promoted hoaxes that Hamas beheaded ­babies and carried out mass rape, in order to shore up support for Israel), and distorting events.”

The claims were made after the UN found “convincing information” that hostages in Gaza had been – and likely continued to be – raped and subjected to sexual violence, and “reasonable grounds” that rape and gang rape happened during Hamas’s Oct­ober 7 attacks.

The four-year grant expires in December and is for research on “worker consciousness” in global cities and the “problems posed by migrant labour exploitation”.

Jewish students demand Mark Scott’s resignation at campus on Friday. Picture: Britta Campion

Some in the Coalition slammed the professor’s comments and taxpayer funding.

“I think most Australians would be appalled to learn that a person who said the mass rape in the October 7 terror attacks was a hoax and fake news has been awarded a quarter of a million dollars of taxpayers’ money,” Berowra Liberal MP Julian Leeser said.

Mr Leeser said the university sector’s moral compass was “broken” and vice-chancellors seemed to care more about taxpayer funds than “maintaining standards”.

Opposition education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson urged the ARC to investigate cancelling the Fernandes grant.

“It is unacceptable that government funding is being used to support these abhorrent teachings,” she said.

“Australian taxpayers should not be supporting the work of any person who has sought to indoctrinate students with conspiracy theories.“

Professor Fernandes and the ARC did not respond to request for comments.