Australia Is Dismantling Academic Freedom in Defense of Zionism
Noam Peleg | 19 October 2024 | Mondoweiss
Over the last year, Australian universities have been subject to a Zionist political pressure campaign for their varied responses to ongoing university student protests against Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. This culminated recently in the Australian Senate with calls to investigate universities for antisemitism.
On October 2, 2024, the Australian Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs released a set of recommendations as part of a review of a bill calling for a judicial inquiry into antisemitism at universities. The Committee recommended that the Attorney General refer an inquiry into antisemitism at Australian universities to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights. In addition, it recommended that the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) will work together with the newly appointed Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism to ensure that universities review their complaints processes to a “real and meaningful outcomes for complainants.”…