War of words over anti-Semitism and university protests

As bombs were being dropped on displaced refugees sheltering in tents in Gaza, university students across Australia camped out on pristine campus lawns to protest Israel's military actions.

Whether these sites remained places of legitimate protest or hotbeds for anti-Semitic activity is due to be explored on Monday.

The University of Sydney, UNSW, academics and student groups are among scores of stakeholders weighing into a NSW parliamentary inquiry examining anti-Semitism on university campuses.

It will also examine anti-Semitic attacks in recent months, including graffiti sprayed on cars and homes and a firebombing of a childcare centre near a synagogue.

In its submission, the Australasian Union of Jewish Students said universities had become "flashpoints for anti-Semitic activity."

The union pointed to the proportion of Jewish-Australians who identify as Zionist.

Zionism is widely understood as a political movement that called for the founding of the state of Israel, but the union said it was much more than that.

"Jewish students may not consider themselves politically Zionist but may still have strong emotional or religious connection to Israel," it said.

"Given that the majority of Jewish Australians identify as Zionist, it is not credible to claim that threats or acts of hostility directed at 'Zionists' cannot also be acts of anti-Semitism."

Conservative Jewish groups have lambasted chants heard at weekly demonstrations and on uni campuses as anti-Semitic, most notably "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."

But many submissions by Jewish Australians disputed the conflation of anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.

The stance feeds "into a politicised and divisive discourse which seeks to label any criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic," the progressive Jewish Council of Australia said.

Civil libertarians warned about its impact on political communication.

"Conflating legitimate criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism at a time when Israel is justifiably being criticised for failing to meet international human rights standards ... is dangerous," the NSW Council for Civil Liberties said.

"(It) treats Jewish people as having monolithic political beliefs, a view that is itself anti-Semitic."

Australia's 39 universities unanimously endorsed a new definition of anti-Semitism in February.

The definition, which includes harassment that impedes Jews' ability to participate as equals in educational and social life, has been contested by human rights groups as curbing political speech.

A Senate inquiry has also examined the student encampments that sprang up in 2023 in response to Israel's bombing and ground assault on Gaza.

More than 52,000 Palestinians, including about 18,000 children, have been killed so far in Gaza, according to the United Nations.

It was sparked by Hamas, a militant group in the blockaded enclave, killing more than 1200 Israelis and capturing 250 hostages in a cross-border attack on October 7, 2023.