Since Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7 2023, and Israel’s war in Gaza, there has been a sharp increase in antisemitic incidents, some of these occurring at Australian universities. The war’s ongoing reverberations have led to renewed controversy over the question of when criticism of Israel and support for Palestinian rights becomes antisemitic.
On February 27 2025, Universities Australia issued a statement on racism, acknowledging that racism existed on campuses in all forms, “including antisemitism, Islamophobia and the experience of First Nations people”.
It followed a parliamentary report on rising antisemitism on university campuses tabled by Labor MP Josh Burns, which made a number of recommendations to ensure the safety of Jewish students.
