Awful Story
Jewish Student Shunned for Speaking Against Antisemitism at Sydney University
“We just want the right to define our own Jewish identity,” said Kobi Rose. The response? 200 students turned their backs on him.
A shocking display of hostility unfolded this week at the University of Sydney, when hundreds of students turned their backs on a Jewish peer who dared to speak out against antisemitism and condemn Hamas during a student council debate.
The scene took place at a student assembly hosted by the far-left group Students Against War, which sought to reject the university’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.
“You turned your back on us, literally.”
Kobi Rose, a Jewish student representing the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS), addressed the audience with a passionate plea for solidarity:
“Antizionism today borrows every evil of the modern world, colonialism, white supremacy, and genocide and projects it onto the Jewish people ... All we want is the right to define ourselves, not to be told by others what it means to be Jewish, to be discriminated against, or to face antisemitism.”
The response? Nearly 200 students turned their backs on him in unison.
“It was dehumanizing,” said Jack Marz, a fellow AUJS representative. “They claim to support marginalized voices, but when Jews speak about our own oppression, we’re silenced and shunned.”
Marz emphasized that the IHRA definition does not prohibit criticism of Israeli policy, but merely calls out classic antisemitic tropes, like denying Jewish self-determination.
Antisemitic Rhetoric on Display
During the session, some students made disturbing statements including, “Israel has no right to exist,” and “There is no such thing as Jewish self-determination in Israel.” Others demanded the university sever ties with Israeli institutions and withdraw all funding from “Zionist collaborators.”
“Let’s be clear,” said a JFeed analysis editor, “this is not about freedom of speech. It’s about a targeted campaign to erase Jewish identity under the guise of progressive values.”
University: “Student councils don’t represent us”
In response to public backlash, a University of Sydney spokesperson clarified:
“The Student Representative Council and other student-led groups are independent bodies. Their statements and actions do not represent the position of the university.”
Still, Jewish groups are calling on the administration to take stronger action against hate speech and ensure that Jewish students can feel safe on campus.
Why This Matters
This incident is just the latest in a wave of global campus antisemitism. From Columbia to Cambridge, Jewish students are being excluded from “progressive spaces” for expressing their identity or supporting Israel’s right to exist.
“Turning your back on someone who speaks about antisemitism,” wrote a Jewish parent on X, “is the most literal way of saying: ‘Your pain doesn’t matter.’”
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