Intellectual freedom, Palestine and the future of Australian universities

In 2024, universities across the world saw a significant wave of student encampments in solidarity with the Palestinian people and raising awareness of the genocide committed by Israel in Gaza.

In Australia, these encampments were peaceful and focused on calls for transparency and divestment from weapons manufacturers profiting from the war. The movement consistently asserted a zero-tolerance stance toward all forms of racism, including antisemitism. However, criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, and of Zionist political ideology underpinning settlement expansion and apartheid in Palestine, was increasingly politicised and reframed by pro-Israel lobby groups as antisemitism.

Given universities’ long-standing role in setting ethical and workplace standards, the use of antisemitism policy to police political expression on Palestine represents a dangerous development that demands rigorous scrutiny by the university sector.

Join us for a discussion on the University Australia (UA) proposed definition of antisemitism and the proposed Antisemitism Education Taskforce (AET) University scorecards, the threat to academic freedom and why universities, including their staff and students have a responsibility and right to scrutinise these workplace policies, even more so after the passing of the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Bill 2026. This forum will support a national union and staff response calling on VC’s, Universities Australia (UA), and TEQSA to protect intellectual freedom while genuinely tackling racism.

Take Action

Add your name to the open letter to demand universities reject politicised definitions of antisemitism and upholds academic and intellectual freedom on campus.

Sign the Open Letter to Universities: https://apan.org.au/apr-in-universities/

Report incidents of Anti-Palestinian Racism: www.combat-apr.com/report