Universities, arts face cuts under anti-Semitism plan

The Advertiser

2 days ago

Australian universities and cultural institutions could have their funding withheld as part of a sweeping plan to clamp down on anti-Semitism.
The Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism Jillian Segal has produced a report saying that cultural and educational spaces, specifically university campuses, are places where Jewish Australians suffered discrimination.
As a result, its recommendations call on the federal government to work with Ms Segal to withhold funding from universities, programs or individuals within universities that facilitate, enable or fail to act against anti-Semitism.
Public grants for university centres and academics could also be terminated if recipients engage in "anti-Semitic or otherwise discriminatory or hateful speech or actions".
"Universities will continue to be held accountable," Ms Segal told reporters in Sydney as she delivered her findings to the federal government.
"When my report speaks of education ... it is not just about education on the history of the Middle East or education about anti-Semitism, it is education about how to have civil dialogue and we've lost that."
About 60 per cent of Australian Jewish students who experienced anti-Semitism in 2024 felt unsupported by their institutions, according to a survey by the Australian Union of Jewish Students referred to in Ms Segal's report.
Cultural institutions, broadcasters and artists also featured, as the report recommended governments ensure public funding isn't used to support or implicitly endorse anti-Semitism themes or narratives.
It suggests terms in agreements to allow funding to be pulled from institutions or festivals that promote, facilitate or don't "effectively deal with" hate or anti-Semitism.
There are some concerns that the plan could stifle legitimate criticism of Israel, whose violence in Gaza - in the wake of the October 7, 2024, killings of Israeli citizens by Hamas - has resulted in the deaths of more than 57,000 Palestinians.
A slew of Australian arts bodies, including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the State Library of Australia and Creative Australia, faced backlash after revoking opportunities from artists who had been outspoken critics of Israel.
And the report recommended that higher education institutions and all levels of government adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's controversial definition of anti-Semitism, which has been criticised for conflating criticism of Israel and Zionism with anti-Semitism.
When asked about scrutiny of Israel, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that people had a right to their perspectives but did not have a right to bring conflict to Australia.
"Whatever your view on the Middle East, it is not advanced by attacking people here in Australia because of who they are, because of their faith, because of their identity - it's completely unacceptable," he told reporters in Sydney, standing alongside Ms Segal.
"The kind of hatred and violence that we've seen on our streets recently is despicable, and it won't be tolerated."
He welcomed her plan, but noted the government and society would need to collaborate to ensure anti-Semitism was "pushed to the margins".
Ms Segal's report has been in the works since her July 2024 appointment, which itself was a response to a rise in anti-Semitism following the October 7 attacks.
An East Melbourne synagogue was set alight on Friday night, seven months after a firebombing at the Adass Israel Synagogue of Melbourne about 20 minutes away.
There have been multiple incidents of vandalism at Jewish schools and synagogues, as well as a firebombing at the former home of a prominent community leader in Sydney in late 2024.
According to the report, there was a 300 per cent rise in threats, vandalism and physical violence against Jewish Australians between October 2023 and September 2024, driven by offline and online extremist ideologies.
But anti-Semitism had already been steadily rising in Australia prior to October 7.
Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has urged the prime minister to act on Ms Segal's recommendations.
"This report shows anti-Semitism is not just a problem of security or law enforcement," she said.
"It's a cultural and societal cancer that needs attention through our schools, universities, media, and even the arts."
Australian universities and cultural institutions could have their funding withheld as part of a sweeping plan to clamp down on anti-Semitism.
The Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism Jillian Segal has produced a report saying that cultural and educational spaces, specifically university campuses, are places where Jewish Australians suffered discrimination.
As a result, its recommendations call on the federal government to work with Ms Segal to withhold funding from universities, programs or individuals within universities that facilitate, enable or fail to act against anti-Semitism.
Public grants for university centres and academics could also be terminated if recipients engage in "anti-Semitic or otherwise discriminatory or hateful speech or actions".
"Universities will continue to be held accountable," Ms Segal told reporters in Sydney as she delivered her findings to the federal government.
"When my report speaks of education ... it is not just about education on the history of the Middle East or education about anti-Semitism, it is education about how to have civil dialogue and we've lost that."
About 60 per cent of Australian Jewish students who experienced anti-Semitism in 2024 felt unsupported by their institutions, according to a survey by the Australian Union of Jewish Students referred to in Ms Segal's report.
Cultural institutions, broadcasters and artists also featured, as the report recommended governments ensure public funding isn't used to support or implicitly endorse anti-Semitism themes or narratives.
It suggests terms in agreements to allow funding to be pulled from institutions or festivals that promote, facilitate or don't "effectively deal with" hate or anti-Semitism.
There are some concerns that the plan could stifle legitimate criticism of Israel, whose violence in Gaza - in the wake of the October 7, 2024, killings of Israeli citizens by Hamas - has resulted in the deaths of more than 57,000 Palestinians.
A slew of Australian arts bodies, including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the State Library of Australia and Creative Australia, faced backlash after revoking opportunities from artists who had been outspoken critics of Israel.
And the report recommended that higher education institutions and all levels of government adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's controversial definition of anti-Semitism, which has been criticised for conflating criticism of Israel and Zionism with anti-Semitism.
When asked about scrutiny of Israel, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that people had a right to their perspectives but did not have a right to bring conflict to Australia.
"Whatever your view on the Middle East, it is not advanced by attacking people here in Australia because of who they are, because of their faith, because of their identity - it's completely unacceptable," he told reporters in Sydney, standing alongside Ms Segal.
"The kind of hatred and violence that we've seen on our streets recently is despicable, and it won't be tolerated."
He welcomed her plan, but noted the government and society would need to collaborate to ensure anti-Semitism was "pushed to the margins".
Ms Segal's report has been in the works since her July 2024 appointment, which itself was a response to a rise in anti-Semitism following the October 7 attacks.
An East Melbourne synagogue was set alight on Friday night, seven months after a firebombing at the Adass Israel Synagogue of Melbourne about 20 minutes away.
There have been multiple incidents of vandalism at Jewish schools and synagogues, as well as a firebombing at the former home of a prominent community leader in Sydney in late 2024.
According to the report, there was a 300 per cent rise in threats, vandalism and physical violence against Jewish Australians between October 2023 and September 2024, driven by offline and online extremist ideologies.
But anti-Semitism had already been steadily rising in Australia prior to October 7.
Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has urged the prime minister to act on Ms Segal's recommendations.
"This report shows anti-Semitism is not just a problem of security or law enforcement," she said.
"It's a cultural and societal cancer that needs attention through our schools, universities, media, and even the arts."
Australian universities and cultural institutions could have their funding withheld as part of a sweeping plan to clamp down on anti-Semitism.
The Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism Jillian Segal has produced a report saying that cultural and educational spaces, specifically university campuses, are places where Jewish Australians suffered discrimination.
As a result, its recommendations call on the federal government to work with Ms Segal to withhold funding from universities, programs or individuals within universities that facilitate, enable or fail to act against anti-Semitism.
Public grants for university centres and academics could also be terminated if recipients engage in "anti-Semitic or otherwise discriminatory or hateful speech or actions".
"Universities will continue to be held accountable," Ms Segal told reporters in Sydney as she delivered her findings to the federal government.
"When my report speaks of education ... it is not just about education on the history of the Middle East or education about anti-Semitism, it is education about how to have civil dialogue and we've lost that."
About 60 per cent of Australian Jewish students who experienced anti-Semitism in 2024 felt unsupported by their institutions, according to a survey by the Australian Union of Jewish Students referred to in Ms Segal's report.
Cultural institutions, broadcasters and artists also featured, as the report recommended governments ensure public funding isn't used to support or implicitly endorse anti-Semitism themes or narratives.
It suggests terms in agreements to allow funding to be pulled from institutions or festivals that promote, facilitate or don't "effectively deal with" hate or anti-Semitism.
There are some concerns that the plan could stifle legitimate criticism of Israel, whose violence in Gaza - in the wake of the October 7, 2024, killings of Israeli citizens by Hamas - has resulted in the deaths of more than 57,000 Palestinians.
A slew of Australian arts bodies, including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the State Library of Australia and Creative Australia, faced backlash after revoking opportunities from artists who had been outspoken critics of Israel.
And the report recommended that higher education institutions and all levels of government adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's controversial definition of anti-Semitism, which has been criticised for conflating criticism of Israel and Zionism with anti-Semitism.
When asked about scrutiny of Israel, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that people had a right to their perspectives but did not have a right to bring conflict to Australia.
"Whatever your view on the Middle East, it is not advanced by attacking people here in Australia because of who they are, because of their faith, because of their identity - it's completely unacceptable," he told reporters in Sydney, standing alongside Ms Segal.
"The kind of hatred and violence that we've seen on our streets recently is despicable, and it won't be tolerated."
He welcomed her plan, but noted the government and society would need to collaborate to ensure anti-Semitism was "pushed to the margins".
Ms Segal's report has been in the works since her July 2024 appointment, which itself was a response to a rise in anti-Semitism following the October 7 attacks.
An East Melbourne synagogue was set alight on Friday night, seven months after a firebombing at the Adass Israel Synagogue of Melbourne about 20 minutes away.
There have been multiple incidents of vandalism at Jewish schools and synagogues, as well as a firebombing at the former home of a prominent community leader in Sydney in late 2024.
According to the report, there was a 300 per cent rise in threats, vandalism and physical violence against Jewish Australians between October 2023 and September 2024, driven by offline and online extremist ideologies.
But anti-Semitism had already been steadily rising in Australia prior to October 7.
Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has urged the prime minister to act on Ms Segal's recommendations.
"This report shows anti-Semitism is not just a problem of security or law enforcement," she said.
"It's a cultural and societal cancer that needs attention through our schools, universities, media, and even the arts."
Australian universities and cultural institutions could have their funding withheld as part of a sweeping plan to clamp down on anti-Semitism.
The Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism Jillian Segal has produced a report saying that cultural and educational spaces, specifically university campuses, are places where Jewish Australians suffered discrimination.
As a result, its recommendations call on the federal government to work with Ms Segal to withhold funding from universities, programs or individuals within universities that facilitate, enable or fail to act against anti-Semitism.
Public grants for university centres and academics could also be terminated if recipients engage in "anti-Semitic or otherwise discriminatory or hateful speech or actions".
"Universities will continue to be held accountable," Ms Segal told reporters in Sydney as she delivered her findings to the federal government.
"When my report speaks of education ... it is not just about education on the history of the Middle East or education about anti-Semitism, it is education about how to have civil dialogue and we've lost that."
About 60 per cent of Australian Jewish students who experienced anti-Semitism in 2024 felt unsupported by their institutions, according to a survey by the Australian Union of Jewish Students referred to in Ms Segal's report.
Cultural institutions, broadcasters and artists also featured, as the report recommended governments ensure public funding isn't used to support or implicitly endorse anti-Semitism themes or narratives.
It suggests terms in agreements to allow funding to be pulled from institutions or festivals that promote, facilitate or don't "effectively deal with" hate or anti-Semitism.
There are some concerns that the plan could stifle legitimate criticism of Israel, whose violence in Gaza - in the wake of the October 7, 2024, killings of Israeli citizens by Hamas - has resulted in the deaths of more than 57,000 Palestinians.
A slew of Australian arts bodies, including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the State Library of Australia and Creative Australia, faced backlash after revoking opportunities from artists who had been outspoken critics of Israel.
And the report recommended that higher education institutions and all levels of government adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's controversial definition of anti-Semitism, which has been criticised for conflating criticism of Israel and Zionism with anti-Semitism.
When asked about scrutiny of Israel, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that people had a right to their perspectives but did not have a right to bring conflict to Australia.
"Whatever your view on the Middle East, it is not advanced by attacking people here in Australia because of who they are, because of their faith, because of their identity - it's completely unacceptable," he told reporters in Sydney, standing alongside Ms Segal.
"The kind of hatred and violence that we've seen on our streets recently is despicable, and it won't be tolerated."
He welcomed her plan, but noted the government and society would need to collaborate to ensure anti-Semitism was "pushed to the margins".
Ms Segal's report has been in the works since her July 2024 appointment, which itself was a response to a rise in anti-Semitism following the October 7 attacks.
An East Melbourne synagogue was set alight on Friday night, seven months after a firebombing at the Adass Israel Synagogue of Melbourne about 20 minutes away.
There have been multiple incidents of vandalism at Jewish schools and synagogues, as well as a firebombing at the former home of a prominent community leader in Sydney in late 2024.
According to the report, there was a 300 per cent rise in threats, vandalism and physical violence against Jewish Australians between October 2023 and September 2024, driven by offline and online extremist ideologies.
But anti-Semitism had already been steadily rising in Australia prior to October 7.
Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has urged the prime minister to act on Ms Segal's recommendations.
"This report shows anti-Semitism is not just a problem of security or law enforcement," she said.
"It's a cultural and societal cancer that needs attention through our schools, universities, media, and even the arts."