Letter

In response to Conflation and controversy over antisemitism definition

Unis adopting IHRA definition of antisemitism

“The decisions [to adopt the IHRA definition] were made from above as might be expected in a corporation by the board and the chief executive and just imposed from on high.”

But isn’t this what our universities have become? With government funding cuts — who can forget in particular PM Morrison’s contempt for education? — universities are now corporate-like entities. Free and rigorous thinking and debate are incompatible with reliance on donors who want specific outcomes. In this context, the government is just another donor, wanting to satisfy its lobbyists and donors. The pro-Israel, “Israel can do no wrong”, cohort has shown its power and influence.

The pity of it is, in abusing the memory of the Holocaust, refusing to accept that the nation of Israel ‘‘can’’ do wrong as we see 24/7, tying all that is good about Jews and Judaism to genocide, makes for a less rather than more safe world for all of us.

If universities want us to believe that they are still rigorous academic institutions, they would do well to speedily revisit their decision to adopt the IHRA definition and stop penalising peaceful pro-Palestine demonstrators – who include many Jewish people.

— Margaret Callinan from Hawthorn VIC 3122