From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Australian universities adopt IHRA-based definition of antisemitism
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleZev Stub is the Times of Israel's Diaspora Affairs correspondent.
Australia’s 39 universities have endorsed a definition of antisemitism to be enforced on campuses, using a formulation closely aligned with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition.
The decision follows the findings of the Senate that Jewish students feel threatened by “brazen antisemitism” on the country’s campuses. Establishing a uniform definition of antisemitism “will help universities in their efforts to combat this scourge,” says Universities Australia, which represents the schools.
The IHRA definition has been adopted by hundreds of countries, universities, and other entities around the world as a tool to fight antisemitism.
Pro-Palestinian groups are protesting the decision, with the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) saying the definition “silences dissent, shields Israeli war crimes, and criminalizes Palestinian voices.”
The Universities Australia definition of antisemitism reads:
“Antisemitism is discrimination, prejudice, harassment, exclusion, vilification, intimidation or violence that impedes Jews’ ability to participate as equals in educational, political, religious, cultural, economic or social life. It can manifest in a range of ways including negative, dehumanizing, or stereotypical narratives about Jews. Further, it includes hate speech, epithets, caricatures, stereotypes, tropes, Holocaust denial, and antisemitic symbols. Targeting Jews based on their Jewish identities alone is discriminatory and antisemitic.
“Criticism of the policies and practices of the Israeli government or state is not in and of itself antisemitic. However, criticism of Israel can be antisemitic when it is grounded in harmful tropes, stereotypes or assumptions and when it calls for the elimination of the State of Israel or all Jews, or when it holds Jewish individuals or communities responsible for Israel’s actions. It can be antisemitic to make assumptions about what Jewish individuals think based only on the fact that they are Jewish.
“All peoples, including Jews, have the right to self-determination. For most, but not all Jewish Australians, Zionism is a core part of their Jewish identity. Substituting the word ‘Zionist’ for ‘Jew’ does not eliminate the possibility of speech being antisemitic.”
The Times of Israel Community.