‘Blindsided’: Sydney University vice chancellor resists calls for resignation

University of Sydney vice chancellor Mark Scott has resisted calls for his resignation after a bruising Senate hearing in which he apologised to Jewish staff and students.

Internal documents obtained by the Herald reveal he was “blindsided” by the Jewish community’s angry reaction to the university’s deal with students which led to the end of the pro-Palestinian encampment in June.

University of Sydney vice chancellor Professor Mark Scott speaks at the hearing.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Scott apologised to Jewish staff and students at a Senate inquiry on Friday, conceding he and the university had failed them in his handling of the protests.

The Australasian Union of Jewish Students then renewed its calls for him to resign, saying his position was untenable.

Asked on Monday if he would resign, a spokeswoman responded that Scott was focused on building a safe and inclusive place for the community “so all our students receive an exceptional education”.

The spokeswoman pointed to an external review of processes and policies, including relating to complaints handling, being conducted by Bruce Hodgkinson SC.

“We also recognise the hurt and distress in the Jewish community and heard the heartbreaking testimonials presented in the recent inquiry,” she said.

The Senate probe, which is considering a Coalition bill to establish a judicial inquiry into antisemitism at Australian universities, has received more than 600 submissions, including that Australian students have experienced daily harassment from those trying to spread anti-Jewish sentiment.

Scott’s grilling followed the institution’s two-month pro-Palestinian encampment, one of many at Australian universities, which led to allegations that Jewish students felt unsafe and unwelcome.

Demonstrators have rejected accusations the encampment created an antisemitic culture on campus and said some of the organisers included Jewish people.

Sydney University ordered the encampment to be shut down on June 14, but a section of protesters associated with the Muslim community remained on campus.

The university negotiated and reached a deal for them to leave on June 21, a move that drew outrage from Jewish groups who accused the university of rewarding the protesters.

Documents obtained through freedom of information laws reveal the university was “blindsided” by the outrage.

In an email to the university’s governing senate on June 26, Scott said the university’s top priority was arresting the reputational damage done to the institution, particularly within the Jewish community.

“At some point, it will be good to review how blindsided we have been by this adverse reaction, unseen at Melbourne, UQ and Curtin, where other encampments concluded in arrangements made with protesters,” he said.

“We had anticipated a positive response from Jewish staff and students who had been so upset by the encampment and had been so keen to see it gone.”

The deal offered to the remaining students was similar to what was offered to protesters but also included the guarantee that a Muslim association student representative would be part of a previously agreed working group into the university’s investments in defence and weapons industries.

In the email, Scott defended the decision to continue negotiations instead of calling in police.

“I felt that the imagery of Muslim students being arrested by the riot squad would trigger a very significant negative and protesting reaction from our university community,” he said.

Scott said “whilst we may be victims of the extraordinary intensity of these times and the intractable nature of the Middle East conflict”, the university needed to consider what mitigating steps to take.

At Friday’s hearing, Scott said he regretted not communicating the deal to end the encampment with the Jewish community before it was announced.

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said it was “difficult to believe” that Scott could have been surprised by the reaction of the Jewish community given the repeated concerns they had expressed.

“Despite assurances from the university that negotiations with the encampment had come to an end, we later discovered by chance that negotiations were once again under way,” he said.

Days after the order to close the camp, this masthead revealed supporters of extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, banned in countries including the UK but not Australia, had managed to infiltrate the encampment.

Scott told NSW budget estimates this month that the university received a call in May suggesting that Hizb ut-Tahrir may have been a presence on campus – a development which was referred to security but not police.

A university spokesperson said while there had been regular communication with police and with its own security team during the encampment, “we do not have detailed records of these conversations.”

NSW Police told parliament in July that no element of the university notified or briefed police about the possible presence of the group.

The NSW hearing also heard that the university had received about 260 complaints about the encampment.

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