The University of Sydney has sacked a staff member months after she was filmed during a verbal outburst at Jewish students on campus.
The staffer, identified as Rose Nakad, reportedly confronted the students who were celebrating the Jewish festival of Sukkot in October.
She was suspended after a video of the exchange was circulated online, pending an investigation, amid widespread outrage.
Sarah Aamidor, a Jewish academic at the university who was present at the spot when the incident happened, earlier told The Australian that the staff member (Ms Nakad) shouted “Free Palestine” at the Sukkot stall, prompting her to respond that “this is a Jewish holiday and saying something like this is antisemitic”.
She told the media that Ms Nakad, who claimed to be an Indigenous Palestinian, turned around and said: “If you tell me you are an anti-Zionist Jew, I have no problem with you. A Zionist, whether they are Jewish, whether they are Christian, whether they are Muslim … is the lowest form of rubbish.”
“They’re shredding children … you should be making it stop,” she said. "You are disgusting … Look at this rubbish ... you are depraved," she allegedly said. The students reportedly asked her to “move on”.
Ms Aamidor added that there was no Israeli symbolism or references to the Gaza war at the stall and that “this was deliberate”.
In a statement issued on 15 December, a day after the Bondi Beach mass shooting, the university said the conduct of Ms Nakad, a lecturer in the Department of Media and Communications, was found to be “deeply distressing and utterly unacceptable”.
“We immediately suspended the staff member pending a formal process, and have now terminated their employment on the grounds of serious misconduct. This decision followed careful consideration in line with our clear expectations of behaviour and our obligation to make sure our campuses are safe and welcoming for all,” a statement by the University of Sydney said.
“We quickly apologised to our students and staff who were affected by this incident, with ongoing free and confidential wellbeing support available to anyone in our community who may need it,” it said, adding that “hate speech, antisemitism and harassment have no place at our University”.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday said the federal government will significantly tighten hate speech laws, including targeting religious preachers who promote violence, and introduce new powers to cancel or reject visas for those spreading hate and division, in response to the Bondi Beach mass shooting.
The University of Sydney’s decision comes amid heightened concerns over a rise in antisemitic incidents in Australia, particularly following the deadly beach attack in which 15 people were killed.
Last year, pro-Palestinian student protests erupted across several Australian universities, with many camping on campuses and demanding the severing of academic and research ties with Israel. At the time, the University of Sydney’s vice chancellor, Mark Scott AO, rejected the students’ demands.
Jewish community leaders in Australia have warned of an increase in hostility and violence, with the Sydney incident seen as part of a broader pattern of antisemitic abuse since the start of the Israel–Gaza conflict.
Over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza, the territory’s Health Ministry have said.
Israel’s offensive has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced around 90 per cent of the population and caused to a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the attack that sparked the war, and abducted another 251.
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