On February 25th, Australia’s 39 public universities agreed to unilaterally endorse a contentious new definition of antisemitism.
The definition was drafted by leaders of Australia’s largest universities, the Group of Eight (Go8), in consultation with the federal antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal. Universities Australia (UA) convened on Monday and agreed to implement the definition nationwide.
This comes after a series of recommendations from the parliamentary Inquiry into Antisemitism at Australian Universities were released last month, among them the need to adopt a “clear definition” of antisemitism that “closely aligns” with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition.
Since its inception in 2005, the IHRA definition has faced global backlash from academics and activists for problematising criticism of Israel.
Public furore over the IHRA definition has prompted the creation of alternate definitions such as the Jerusalem Declaration, which draws a clear distinction between antisemitism and legitimate criticism of Israel and the crimes against humanity that the state has perpetrated against Palestinians.
Pursuant to the IHRA definition, the new UA definition states that “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.”
“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.”
In a press release, the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) slammed the definition as ”McCarthyist.”
“This move manipulates genuine concern about antisemitism to silence political dissent, shield Israel from accountability and shut down Palestinians and their allies.”
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), a leading Jewish advocacy group, has not yet commented on the UA definition, but endorsed the Inquiry’s recommendation to draw from the IHRA definition.
However, the Jewish Council of Australia (JCA), a newer representative body that formed in early 2024 for a more pluralistic representation of the Australian Jewish community, has called the definition “dangerous, politicised and unworkable.”
Dr Naama Blatman, a Jewish-Israeli academic who researches and lectures in settler-colonialism in Israel and Palestine, said that the definition “could very well be weaponised to silence the work of academics in this area, including my own.”
Mohamed Duar, a spokesperson for Amnesty International Australia said in a statement released on Thursday, “by adopting this definition, universities will be characterising peaceful protest as a punishable offense. This sets a chilling precedent where students exercising their political rights are vilified and silenced.”
“If universities are truly committed to combating racism, they must adopt a comprehensive, rights-based approach, one that protects all students without eroding fundamental freedoms and rights.”
Universities across the globe have seen a suppression in Palestine activism swiftly after adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
After taking up the IHRA definition in 2021 against the backdrop of the Sheikh Jarrah crisis in Palestinian East Jerusalem, universities across the UK saw the banning of fundraisers and events related to the Palestinian cause.
Following President Donald Trump’s executive order against antisemitism to enforce the IHRA definition in 2019, American universities were subjected to legal action related to student actions supporting Palestinian human rights. At the time, the definition was rejected by one of its authors after observing the “chilling effect” of its application on campus.”
The University of Melbourne was the first tertiary institution in Australia to publicly adopt the controversial definition in 2023. Macquarie University and the University of Wollongong had already quietly adopted the definition in 2021.
