Melbourne University has adopted IHRA antisemitism definition: This is why it’s the right decision

Academics who oppose the adoption of the IHRA definition by universities are misusing free speech arguments, writes ANDRE OBOLER.

This week Melbourne University became the second university in Australia to adopt the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism in Australian universities, following its adoption by the University of Wollongong last year. It is to be hoped others will follow soon.

The Melbourne University decision has been strongly welcomed by Jewish community leaders and the Australian Union of Jewish Students, particularly in the wake of motions by the University's student union last year, which included claims about Israel that the IHRA definition classes as antisemitic.

The adoption, which came as part of the University's new anti-racism policy, follows a letter from a group of MPs to all university vice chancellors urging them to adopt this definition.

But, as The Jewish Independent recently reported, a letter by some academics, many of them Jewish, to university vice chancellors opposes the adoption of the IHRA definition in Australian universities.

Jewish students on Australian campuses are suffering from antisemitism, some of it from pro-Palestinian activists whose activities cross the line as they employ racist rhetoric and call for genocide.