ANU won’t punish students over apparent Nazi gestures
“Our policy is not to discuss individual cases … our finding was that there was not a case here,” she said.
Speaking after the inquiry to this masthead, Burns called on the ANU to reassess its finding that there was no need for disciplinary action.
“I was shocked and astounded during the hearing and would definitely call on the university to reconsider their position,” he said.
“If not, the chancellor [Julie Bishop] needs to assure herself of her confidence in the ability of the administration to manage antisemitism on campus, including something as blatant as a student performing a Nazi salute.”
Executive members of the Australian Union of Jewish Students at the ANU said Bell’s remarks at the hearing on Wednesday morning were the first they had heard about the case’s outcome.
“As far as we know, there were no interviews conducted with Jewish students in attendance at the AGM, which also raises the question on how they came to their findings,” advocacy co-ordinator
Ethan Mileikowski said.
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“Alongside the very damning evidence, it kind of begs the question as to how they came to the conclusion this was a superficial form of antisemitism.”
Bell also defended another student who told the ABC that Hamas “deserves our unconditional support”.
“I think it is always important to remember that it is possible to believe in academic freedom without endorsing what is expressed within it,” Bell said.
Asked if she supported the student’s comments about Hamas, Bell said she wished the student had not said those words.
“I try to think about what it would be like as a young person in a moment of stress and thinking about the things that you care about profoundly. Do I believe that we should be publicly supporting Hamas? Of course not,” she said.
The ANU had one of Australia’s longest-lasting student encampments, with tents pitched on the campus to protest against the war in Gaza for about 110 days.
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