No Breach Found in University Presentation Comparing Conservative Jews to Neo-Nazis

The presentation featured a slide with a cartoon image named ‘Dutton’s Jew,’ which listed the supposed attributes of politically conservative Jews.

TOPSHOT - A member of the Jewish community attaches an Australian national flag to the front of the damaged Adass Israel Synagogue in the Melbourne suburb of Ripponlea in Australia on Dec. 9, 2024. Martin Keep/AFP via Getty Images

An independent review has found that a university presentation that likened supporting Israel to neo-Nazism was not anti-Semitic.

The two-day symposium in January, hosted by the Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) Indigenous research wing, the Carumba Institute, quickly came under scrutiny after featuring a profile called “Dutton’s Jew.”

The slide, presented by Sarah Schwartz of the left-wing Jewish Council of Australia, was aimed at critiquing conservative Jews who supported former Liberal Leader Peter Dutton, as well as his support for Israel.

The slide was met with laughter by the audience, but caused concern among some attendees, as well as the broader community including the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, the Australian Jewish Association (AJA), as well as Liberal Senator James McGrath and Jewish Labor MP Josh Burns.

A large logo of the Queensland University of Technology at its Gardens Point campus adjacent to the Brisbane CBD in Queensland, Australia on Feb. 16, 2025. Daniel Y. Teng/The Epoch Times

What Did Schwartz Say?

The presentation featured a slide with a cartoon image named “Dutton’s Jew,” which listed the supposed attributes of politically conservative Jews as: hating immigrants, holding Judeo-Christian values, and defending Western civilisation and Australian culture.

Another slide, seemingly showing pro-Israel leaders, was captioned, “With friends like these, who needs enemies ...”

It included images of Pauline Hanson of One Nation, Dutch conservative politician Geert Wilders, Elon Musk at the Auschwitz death camp, and U.S. President Donald Trump in Israel.

During her talk, Schwartz remarked: “It’s honestly getting pretty hard to tell the difference between Zionist anti-Semitism warriors and neo-Nazis.”

The Review’s Findings

Former Federal Court Judge John E. Middleton conducted the review on behalf of QUT, whose administrators said they were not aware of the contents of the slide.

Middleton accepted there was an overall increase in anti-Semitic behaviour, particularly within universities, and that it was a source of “great distress.”

However, he did not consider Schwartz’s presentation to be anti-Semitic.

“Ms. Schwartz intended to critique what she perceives as the political weaponisation of Jewish identity and anti-Semitism by certain political leaders,” Middleton wrote in his findings.

“She was not critical of Jewish people themselves.”

Middleton did, however, question the suitability of the event given the current political climate in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel and Israel’s subsequent war with Hamas.

“More careful consideration should have been given to whether the debate in Jan. 2025 should have been conducted,” he said.

“When deciding to hold and proceed with the debate, an emphasis was placed on the notion of freedom of speech and the role of universities to engage in intellectual debate.

“However, other relevant and important factors should have been more carefully considered including the timing of the debate in the current social and political climate following 7 Oct. 2023.”

‘Throat Punch’ Racists

In a separate presentation, Indigenous poet Laura Munro called on attendees to “throat punch” racists.

“People say that we should call out racism when we witness it. I say punch that [expletive] in the face,” Munro said during the event.

In response to this, Middleton said it was not intended to promote violence.

“Ms. Munro’s presentation, while provocative in tone, was clearly satirical in nature and delivered within the context of a comedy event. She did not intend to promote physical aggression, but rather engage with cultural discourse through satire and exaggeration,” he said.

Recommendations to be Adopted by QUT

Middleton made a number of recommendations, including that the university should, in future, require more transparency around topics and speakers at events going forward and should set appropriate guidelines for freedom of speech and academic freedom.

QUT has also been asked to adopt a standard procedure on balancing freedom of speech and intellectual freedom and that staff should receive regular training on racism and anti-Semitism.

Middleton has also called on QUT to adopt a definition of anti-Semitism to serve as a guide for staff and students.

In a statement, a QUT spokesperson said the university would seek to adopt Middleton’s recommendations.

Call for Removal of Funding

AJA CEO Robert Gregory disagreed with the review’s outcomes.

“The findings are disgraceful but entirely predictable,” he told The Epoch Times.

“It is clear that QUT does not take anti-Semitism seriously or care about Jewish students and staff.

“It’s unclear why they wasted money on this review instead of taking action.”

Gregory said he felt QUT would not have tolerated such “discriminatory behaviour” towards any other minority group.

“It is clear that Australian universities will not take meaningful action against anti-Semitism unless they face the removal of taxpayer funding,” he said.

Members of the Australian Jewish community hold Israeli and Australian flags during a memorial service in Sydney, Australia on Oct. 7, 2024. David Gray/AFP via Getty Images