AIJAC has made a submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee’s Inquiry strongly supporting the proposed Commission of Inquiry into Antisemitism at Australian Universities Bill 2024.

AIJAC noted numerous reasons why an inquiry into antisemitism at Australian university campuses must be established, including:

• Antisemitism has exploded across university campuses since October 7.
• Jewish, Israeli, and pro-Zionist students and staff continue to face threats to their safety and ability to participate freely in academic life.
• Students and staff have been screamed at, filmed without their consent, harassed, followed, intimidated, and were barred from parts of campuses by “encampments” and other protests.
• Some Jewish staff have required security just to conduct their jobs.
• Universities have woefully failed in their duties to halt hate speech and incitement, and provide a safe environment for Jewish students and staff.

AIJAC key recommendations:

• Establish the inquiry with the authority of judicial process, power to subpoena witnesses and take evidence in camera. It argued that all available alternative processes for dealing with this problem – such as a planned Human Rights Commission inquiry into racism on campus generally – are inadequate.
• The inquiry should have the following goals:

1. 1. To provide a comprehensive picture of the state of antisemitism on university campuses.
   2. To assess both the effectiveness of the responses of university administrations to date, and whether these responses fulfil the legal and moral obligations of such administrations.
   3. And to review the regulatory framework for universities with respect to antisemitism and other forms of intolerance on university campuses, and whether changes to that framework are required to fulfil the obligations identified in goal #2 above.

AIJAC strongly urged that the Committee support and endorse the bill to establish a commission of inquiry into antisemitism at Australian university campuses. AIJAC argued that such an inquiry is essential for dealing with the ongoing antisemitism crisis in this country, and for Australia’s ability as a multicultural democracy to protect a minority group currently under threat and also maintain the integrity of our vitally important higher education system.

To read AIJAC’s full submission (PDF download), CLICK HERE