On the anniversary of the Hamas attacks, a Jewish physics professor at the University of Melbourne found himself surrounded by masked protesters in his own office — uncertain, for ninety long minutes, whether he was witnessing dissent or something far more dangerous. His testimony before Australia's royal commission into antisemitism this week joins a chorus of voices describing campuses not as places of open inquiry, but as sites of fear, slow justice, and institutional hesitation. The question these hearings are quietly asking is one universities have long struggled to answer: how does an in
Universities face pressure over campus antisemitism as royal commission hears protest testimony
Jewish students and academics report experiencing fear, harassment, and intimidation on campuses; Professor Prawer and his family experienced significant distress from the office occupation.
Where's the deterrence? The university tolerates dissent but it doesn't tolerate misbehaviour.
Mark
When Prawer says he didn't know if it was a terrorist attack, is he being literal or rhetorical?
Mimi
Both, I think. In the moment—twenty masked people in your office, one year after October 7—the uncertainty was real. But he's also making a point about the university's failure to take the incident seriously enough. The expulsions being overturned confirmed his fear that there would be no real consequence.
Mark
Why does he care so much about knowing their identities?
Mimi
Safety, partly. But also accountability. If you're going to occupy someone's office and make accusations, he thinks you should be willing to be identified. The anonymity, in his view, removes responsibility from the act.
Mark
The petition from 150 staff members—what does that signal?
Mimi
That there's genuine disagreement within the university about what constitutes legitimate protest. Those signatories weren't defending the students' message necessarily. They were defending the tactic itself. That split is the real problem the institution hasn't resolved.
Mark
Suss mentions students being watched at lunch. That's surveillance language.
Mimi
Exactly. It's not just disagreement anymore. It's being marked, being tracked. That's when students stop coming to campus, stop participating. The chilling effect is real.
Mark
Altman seems to be saying universities made things worse by clamping down.
Mimi
He's arguing that by banning indoor protests and shutting down debate, universities created a vacuum where rumor and conspiracy fill in. Better to have messy, difficult conversation than silence and resentment.
Mark
So what's the actual solution?
Mimi
That's what the commission is trying to figure out. Prawer wants deterrence and clear consequences. Altman wants dialogue and bridge-building. The university wants to protect people without taking sides. Those aren't necessarily compatible.
El Pulso
- A physics professor occupied by masked students for ninety minutes still doesn't know who they were — and hired a private investigator out of fear of Hamas connections.
- Two students recommended for expulsion had their discipline overturned on appeal, leaving targeted academics asking: where is the deterrence?
- Jewish students report arriving on campus with dread, waiting months for responses to complaints, and now escorting each other home from cultural events.
- A dissenting academic voice warns that suppressing debate on Israel-Palestine breeds conspiracy and division — and that neo-Nazis, not protesters, pose the graver threat.
- Australia's antisemitism royal commission is now pressing universities to answer whether their structures can hold both the right to protest and the right to safety.
On the anniversary of the Hamas attacks, a Jewish physics professor at the University of Melbourne found himself surrounded by masked protesters in his own office — uncertain, for ninety long minutes, whether he was witnessing dissent or something far more dangerous. His testimony before Australia's royal commission into antisemitism this week joins a chorus of voices describing campuses not as places of open inquiry, but as sites of fear, slow justice, and institutional hesitation. The question these hearings are quietly asking is one universities have long struggled to answer: how does an institution protect the dignity of its members without silencing the very disagreements that define academic life?
Steven Prawer was at his University of Melbourne office on October 9, 2024 — exactly one year after the Hamas attacks — when twenty masked students walked in and stayed for ninety minutes. Prawer, a Jewish physics professor who leads a joint PhD program with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, had no way of knowing whether what was unfolding was a protest or something worse. This week, he told Australia's royal commission into antisemitism that the uncertainty itself was the wound.
Two students were recommended for expulsion, two others for suspension. The vice-chancellor called it shocking. But when the discipline was handed down months later, a petition signed by roughly 150 university affiliates argued that sit-ins are legitimate protest. An appeal followed, and the expulsions were overturned. Prawer still doesn't know his occupiers' identities. The university has since banned indoor protests, but he wants something harder to legislate: a credible signal that harassment carries consequences.
His testimony sits alongside others painting a broader picture of campus life for Jewish Australians. Jeremy Suss, president of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students, described undergraduates arriving with a "strong sense of apprehension." At a Sukkot celebration on the October 7 anniversary, he was approached by four people who discussed expelling or killing Israel's population and noted they had been watching Jewish students at their lunches. Suss now makes sure no one leaves events alone. Complaints to universities, he said, have gone unresolved for months or been quietly dropped.
The commission also heard a counterpoint. Academic and author Dennis Altman argued that universities have made things worse by shutting down debate rather than enabling it, and that the greater danger comes from organised neo-Nazis, not pro-Palestine protesters. What the country needs, he said, is mutual recognition of shared pain and a genuine effort at dialogue across divides.
What the hearings are surfacing is an institution caught between obligations it has not yet learned to hold at once: protecting people from harassment, preserving the right to dissent, and creating conditions where disagreement doesn't collapse into intimidation or enforced silence. The University of Melbourne's interim vice-chancellor is due before the commission Wednesday.
Steven Prawer was in his office at the University of Melbourne when twenty students, their faces covered by keffiyehs, hoods, and masks, walked in and occupied the space for ninety minutes. It was October 9, 2024—one year to the day after the Hamas attacks in Israel. Prawer, a physics professor who wears a kippah and identifies as a Zionist, is the academic lead for a joint PhD program between Melbourne and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The students were there to protest that partnership, arguing the university was complicit in genocide. Prawer didn't know, in those ninety minutes, whether he was experiencing a protest or something worse. "I had no idea at that stage if it was a protest, if it was a terrorist attack," he told the royal commission into antisemitism this week.
Two of the students were recommended for expulsion. Two others faced suspension. The university's then vice-chancellor issued a statement saying he was "shocked and appalled." But in June, when the discipline was handed down, about 150 university employees and affiliates signed a petition arguing that sit-ins are a legitimate form of protest. An appeal followed. The academic board overturned the expulsions.
Now Prawer sits before a royal commission, testifying about what he sees as institutional failure. He still doesn't know who the protesters were. He hired a private investigator because he feared "Hamas connections." He wants the university to send a clear message: dissent is welcome, but misbehaviour is not. "Where's the deterrence?" he asked. The university has since banned indoor protests on campus.
Prawer's testimony is one thread in a larger pattern emerging from this week's hearings in Melbourne. Jewish students across Australian universities are reporting a climate of fear. Jeremy Suss, president of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students, told the commission that undergraduates arrive on campus with "a strong sense of apprehension." He attends Monash University and describes a productive relationship with the administration, but that hasn't insulated him from hostility. At a Sukkot celebration held on the anniversary of October 7, four individuals approached him and began what he calls "quite aggressive" interrogation, discussing "killing or exiling all of Israel's population" and noting they see Jewish students "at your lunches every week." Suss now ensures students don't leave events alone.
The institutional response, according to Suss, has been slow and sometimes dismissive. "Universities have not dealt with incidents in a productive or meaningful way," he said. Some students have waited months to hear back about complaints. Others have been outwardly dismissed or never heard from again.
But the commission also heard a different perspective. Prof Dennis Altman, an author and academic, criticized universities for what he called a tendency to "shut down discussion" on Israel-Palestine rather than foster respectful debate. He expressed more concern about neo-Nazi activity than pro-Palestine protesters. The real failure, in his view, is institutional: universities have not found ways to encourage genuine dialogue. "The tendency has been the opposite. It's been to shut down discussion. And that I think in turn promotes all sorts of conspiratorial stories," he said. He argued that what the country needs is mutual recognition that people are hurting, and that social cohesion demands all groups reach across their divides.
The University of Melbourne acknowledged the "significant impact" the office occupation had on Prawer and his family. The interim vice-chancellor is scheduled to appear before the commission on Wednesday. What emerges from these hearings is a picture of institutions caught between competing pressures: the need to protect Jewish students and staff from harassment, the obligation to allow dissent and protest, and the challenge of building spaces where genuine disagreement can happen without descending into intimidation or silence.
Citas Notables
I had no idea at that stage if it was a protest, if it was a terrorist attack.— Professor Steven Prawer, physics professor at University of Melbourne
Universities have not dealt with incidents in a productive or meaningful way. We have many students that have waited months to hear back.— Jeremy Suss, president of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students
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