‘Unacceptable’: University of Sydney vice-chancellor Mark Scott apologises over anti-Semitism from pro-Palestinian encampment protest

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 were made to feel “unsafe” during this period, and said both he and the university had “failed” students and staff. “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.” Under questioning about why the university didn’t intervene earlier. Prof Scott said international situations at campuses like Columbia and the University of California, Los Angeles resulted in increased tensions. Discussions with NSW Police also caused the uni to conclude there would be a “a dramatic escalation” and the potential of violence if the uni involved riot police. As a result of the protest, Prof Scott said the university had 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 didn’t ban camping on the campuses and remove the encampments earlier. Although she did not call for Prof Scott’s resignation, she later told reporters the uni’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. Earlier on Friday, the uni 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. “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 uni 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 unis, 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. Role of the AHRC questioned Separate to the proposed judicial review, the independent but government-funded Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has also been commissioned by the government to conduct a study into racism and universities. However the report is not due after June 13, after the next federal election. Senator Henderson questioned the “efficacy” of the commission, and said Jewish students had questioned the body’s ability to conduct a review with “impartiality and appropriate respect”. Previously the commission has also been accused by Jewish groups of not condemning acts of anti-Semitism, AHRC president Hugh de Krester said he was concerned of the perception, and led to a loss of confidence with the Jewish community, however said the commission had made “a number of statements” condemning the October 7 attacks. “I hope that we can rebuild that confidence, and I hope that Jewish students and Jewish organisations engage with our important study into racism on university campuses and work with us to address anti Semitism and racism more broadly,” he said. However he rejected claims the review was “woefully inadequate”.