Monash and Melbourne Universities accused of whitewashing campus anti-Semitism

Jewish groups have accused Melbourne’s top universities of ‘whitewashing’ anti-Semitism on campus, slamming Melbourne and Monash’s latest annual reports as ‘evasive platitudes’.

Pro-Palestine students protest at La Trobe University in Bundoora. Picture: Diego Fedele/NewsWire

Jewish groups have accused Melbourne’s top universities of “whitewashing” anti-Semitism on campus, slamming Melbourne and Monash’s latest annual reports as “evasive platitudes” that fail to confront the scale of hostility faced by Jewish students.

In separate accounts, Monash University and The University of Melbourne outlined the pressures faced during pro-Palestinian sit-ins and protests, ex­pressing the need to uphold freedom of expression.

Monash University disclosed that it had initiated misconduct proceedings on 13 occasions in response to breaches of its policies. Vice-Chancellor and president Sharon Pickering said the university acted with “clear principles and action” to support campus cohesion amid a fraught social ­climate.

Monash University vice-chancellor and president Sharon Pickering. Picture: Martin Ollman / NewsWire

“The conflict in the Middle East has posed a serious and ongoing challenge to social cohesion in Australia, including on university campuses,” Professor Pickering said.

“Thinly veiled prejudice has been exposed, and we have seen increases in hateful speech and actions across the Australian community.

“Monash navigated this past period, and will navigate the future, with clear principles and action – guided by our namesake Sir John Monash himself, who said, “education is the only protection from prejudice”.

The University of Melbourne leadership similarly described their approach to activism with “care, compassion and respect”, noting that the conflict in the Middle East had caused “great distress for many members of the university community” and led to escalated campus activism, including encampments on its Parkville campus.

Interim Vice-Chancellor Nicola Phillips told the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights that anti-Semitism remained a particular concern.

“Our guiding principle has been to de-escalate conflict in the interests of the safety and security of all members of our community – particularly for our Jewish staff and students,” she said. The University of Melbourne also warned the Albanese government’s proposed cap on new international students created “considerable uncertainty” for the sector and could result in “substantial revenue loss” for the institution.

A University of Melbourne pro-Palestine encampment. Picture: Blair Jackson / NewsWire

“In response to the prospect of international student caps, the university adopted a prudent financial strategy to safeguard its mission of education and research, with savings measures introduced to protect core programs of work,” the report states.

Responding to The University of Melbourne report, the Australian Academic Alliance Against Antisemitism accused the institution of failing to confront what it called the “most acute and undeniable” form of racism present on Australian campuses.

The group said the report “does not engage with the hostility towards Jewish people that has become normalised”, and criticised the university’s use of the “whitewashed and neutral term ‘conflict on campus’ ” to describe post – October 7 incidents.

The alliance also took aim at Monash University’s record, citing the experience of a student – pseudonymously referred to as Jo – who was disciplined after confronting another student wearing attire that included a map depicting Israel as Palestine and the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Monash University upheld a misconduct complaint against Jo, stating that the meaning of the phrase depends on “context and intent”. But the alliance said the decision illustrated a lack of empathy and understanding.

The nation’s peak Jewish organisation also took aim at the reports, declaring parts of them a “rehash” of previous noncommittal responses.

“These parts of the reports are essentially a rehash of the evasive platitudes that featured in their responses to parliamentary inquiries last year and earlier this year,” Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s co-chief executive Peter Wertheim said.

He warned that many university faculties still harboured entrenched cultural biases.