Uni racism report shows widespread impact for Jews

Jews are the religious group most likely to experience racism at university, according to a new report from the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC).

A survey conducted by the AHRC last year found 94% of religiously Jewish respondents had experienced some form of either direct or indirect racism, compared with 76% of Muslims and 71% of Christians.

Among secular Jews, 81% of respondents reported experience of racism. This is a comparable level with other minority groups including Middle Eastern, Chinese, and First Nations people. Palestinians reported the highest level of racism among ethnic groups, with 90% saying they have experienced racism.

The impact of racism for Jewish students and staff is widespread. Half of students say racism towards Jews has impacted their academic work and a third of university staff say it has impacted their careers.

Respect at Uni: Study into antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and the experience of First Nations is based on a survey of 76,131 students at 42 Australian universities and 310 focus group participants. There were 1,324 Jewish respondents.

Visibility makes Jews more vulnerable to racism. Among Jewish respondents who identified as religiously Jewish, 56% had experienced direct personal racism, while among those who identified as secular, 25% had. Similarly, 41% of religious respondents reported feeling unsafe at university, compared with 17% of secular respondents.