The vice-chancellor of the University of Sydney Mark Scott has apologised for the ‘unacceptable’ anti-Semitism experienced by Jewish staff, students and alumni during an eight-week pro-Palestinian encampment protest.
Speaking to a Senate inquiry into anti-Semitism on campus, Prof Scott said it was unacceptable Jewish students and staff were made to feel ‘unsafe’ during this period and that both he and the university had ‘failed’ them.
‘I’ve read the complaints that have been made to the university and all those shared in submissions to this inquiry and to the special envoy, and the testimonials are heartbreaking and unacceptable,’ he said.
‘For that I am sorry. No one should feel at risk, unsafe or unwelcome at any place of learning, and no one should feel the need to hide their identity or stay away from classrooms or campuses.’
Pro-Palestinian encampments flooded the university’s quadrangle in April, remaining for about eight weeks before they were ordered to evacuate.
Prof Scott said it was a ‘difficult period for the university’ and admitted the university’s response did not meet the expectations of the community.
‘For one, I regret we did not communicate the agreement to end the encampment with the Jewish community before it was announced,’ he said
‘I realise there is a lot of work to do to win back the trust and confidence of the university’s Jewish community, and I am committed to doing that.’
University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor and former ABC managing director Mark Scott has apologised to students for not acting faster
The University of Sydney feared a violent outbreak if the protest was forcibly dispersed
Under questioning about why the university didn’t intervene earlier, Prof Scott said he had looked to international comparisons at campuses in the US and believed acting sooner would have risked inflaming the situation.
He said there were fears there would be ‘a dramatic escalation’ in tension and the risk of a violent outbreak if the university called in riot police to disperse protesters.
In the wake of the protest, Prof Scott said the university had now banned encampments, and had commenced an independent review of relevant policies and processes.
‘This was a complex, fast moving environment where we were meeting daily and making multiple decisions based on the best information we had available at the time, and taking the advice of experts, particularly the police and security agencies,’ he said.
‘Did we get every decision right during this time? There are clearly different views on that, and I recognise we did not always meet the expectations of the Jewish community.’
However, the opposition’s education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson said Prof Scott had failed in his leadership, and questioned why he hadn’t banned camping on the campuses and remove the encampments earlier.
Although she did not call for Prof Scott’s resignation, she later told reporters the university’s review was ‘too little, too late’.
‘Whether he continues in his role is a matter for him, but I do believe that he has fundamentally failed not just Jewish students and staff at the university, but all students,’ she said.
Senator Sarah Henderson has accused Sydney University of doing ‘too little, too late’ to protect Jewish students and staff on one of the nation’s biggest campuses
Earlier on Friday, the university was singled out by Australasian Union of Jewish Students vice-president Zachary Morris as ‘probably one of the worst places to be a Jewish student,’ stating the campus had ‘been problematic for a long time’.
Senator Henderson, who introduced the Coalition’s Bill to create a judicial inquiry into anti-Semitism on campuses, criticised Education Minister Jason Clare and the government for ‘not doing enough’.
‘They have not shown the moral courage to say to these university vice chancellors, this is not good enough,’ she said.
Zionist Federation of Australia’ chief executive officer Alon Cassuto said there needed to be a national model and university ombudsman to monitor discrimination complaints at universities.
The pro-Palestinian encampments lasted about eight weeks before it was shut down
‘Anti-Semitism is not even one of the options that can be ticked when you’re putting forward a complaint around against discrimination,’ he said.
He added that even when there were policies, he didn’t believe university administrators were enforcing rules.
‘So I think university administration have the ability to take action, but are simply not doing so, and so we need to examine why that’s the case,’ he said.
Defending universities, Group of Eight deputy chief executive Matthew Brown said the group, which represents Australia’s top eight university, said universities had to maintain freedom of speech.
Dr Brown also said he believed social cohesion was ‘under threat’.
‘Young people are being radicalised well before they get to university, and we need to deal with this at a societal level,’ he said.