Joint project to investigate campus antisemitism and Islamophobia

Monash University has launched a research project aimed at addressing antisemitism and Islamophobia on campus.

The researchers say the project will be the first to research the experiences of hate by Jewish and Muslim staff and students concurrently.

Campus Cohesion: Addressing antisemitism and Islamophobia will be led by Associate Professor David Slucki, a Jewish historian who is director of the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation at Monash, and Dr Susan Carland, a Muslim sociologist who is Deputy Director of Research, Impact and Engagement for the School of Social Sciences at Monash.

The two-year project will focus on Monash University, but the researchers hope to extend it to other campuses and areas of society if funding allows.

Slucki acknowledged antisemitism and Islamophobia had different sources but said it was appropriate to study them in tandem to understand the relationship between them.

“Both these phenomena have spiked with the escalation of the war in Gaza – there is clearly then a link between the two, even if they arise for different reasons. So, we are interested in understanding why they function in parallel and how they shape or feed one another.” 

Current research into antisemitism and Islamophobia is based within each respective community. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry produces an annual report on antisemitic incidents and produced an extra report in response to the spike in antisemitism during the Israel-Hamas war. The Islamophobia Register collects similar data and has published four reports since 2014.