The University of Sydney Academic Standards and Policy Committee (ASPC) will be moving a motion in front of the Academic board today to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
The University of Sydney Academic Standards and Policy Committee (ASPC) proposed adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism earlier this month.
This move is a part of the University’s anti-racist statement which commits to “a process of ‘truth-telling’ to research and uncover instances of the University’s with and engagement in the racial ideas and practices of Australia’s colonial past.”
The IHRA considers the “targeting of the state of Israel” as an antisemitic manifestation. It also condemns “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour.”
The University plans to take on the antisemitism definition with two exceptions, arguing that it is not anti-Semitic to:
- criticise the government of Israel, without additional evidence to suggest anti-Semistic intent
- To hold the government of Israel to the same standards as other liberal democracies
USyd Students’ Representative Council President Lia Perkins believes that “the content about truth-telling is a good step for the Uni, and I personally believe the significance of this shouldn’t be overshadowed with the IHRA. It’s also really not truth-telling about the Palestinian struggle.”
Read the article by Misbah Ansari in Honi Soit.
[Editor: In a later report from Honi Soit it states, “A contentious part of this motion was the inclusion of the IHRA definition of antisemitism which has been criticised for prohibiting criticism of the Israeli state, particularly with regards to Palestine. Though the definition has not been officially endorsed, it has been included in the resources section in conjunction with the statement.
However, the section on antisemitism does clarify that, “It is not antisemitic to criticise the government of Israel, without additional evidence to suggest antisemitic intent.”]