Sky News reveals class action lawsuit filed against the University of Sydney and two of its highest-profile anti-Israel academics in the Federal Court

Sky News AU

8 hours ago

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Australia's oldest university over its handling of anti-Semitism since the October 7 terror attacks in Israel.
Sky News can reveal the legal action against the University of Sydney and two of its highest-profile anti-Israel academics Dr Nick Riemer and Professor John Keane was lodged in the Federal Court on Friday.
The day after the October 7 attacks – in which Hamas terrorists murdered more than 1200 people and took 240 civilians hostage - Dr Riemer tweeted: "No progressive should feel the need to publicly condemn any choices by the Palestinian resistance … doing so just adds to the perception that their cause is unjust."
On the day of the attacks, Professor Keane tweeted an image of a set of green flags with Arabic writing on them closely resembling Hamas flags.
Professor Keane reportedly said the allegation he had posted Hamas flags was 'absurd' and the picture he shared was simply of 'green flags'.
Rotstein Commercial Lawyers managing director Hamish Rotstein called the filing 'a significant move to confront the growing issue of hate speech on university campuses.'
'The legal action seeks to differentiate hate speech from free speech and to protect Jewish, Israeli and Zionist students, academics and staff from antisemitic rhetoric that has contributed to an unsafe university environment,' Mr Rotstein said.
'This case is about ensuring that universities remain places of open intellectual discussion while safeguarding individuals against harmful rhetoric. Upholding existing laws is essential to maintaining fundamental protections and accountability.'
The lawsuit was filed following the termination of the Human Rights Commission process, after complaints against the two academics were lodged with the watchdog by lawyers representing the group of students and staff.
At the time of the complaints to the commission, Dr Riemer and Professor Keane said in a statement allegations they had breached section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act were 'baseless'.
The university's Professor Emeritus Suzanne Rutland OAM and honorary associate John Toltz are among the applicants in the Federal Court case.
Barristers Adam Butt and Saul Holt KC are acting for the group of Jewish students and staff.
Mr Butt successfully represented five Jewish schoolboys who successfully brought a case against the Victorian government and public school Brighton Secondary College, decided in a landmark judgment in 2023.
The fresh court case comes as the university was on Saturday forced to stand down another academic Fahad Ali over tweets in which he called for Zionists to be 'executed'.
Mr Ali, a Palestinian activist who teaches biology casually at the university, is now being investigated by both NSW Police and the university over the posts.
In the first tweet posted on Thursday, Mr Ali wrote: "F*** sanctions, I want Zionists executed like we executed Nazis."
The post was taken down by X for 'violating [its] rules against violent speech', but Mr Ali doubled down, tweeting a screenshot of the hidden post and writing: ''Violent speech' people are on this website every day celebrating the burning [ sic] children alive, don't tell me wanting to see these people hanged like the Nazis were post-Nuremberg is 'violent'."
On Saturday, a spokeswoman for the university told the Daily Telegraph the academic was being stood down while it investigates.
'We're deeply disturbed by comments made by one of our casual academic staff, we find them utterly unacceptable and we're taking immediate action, including suspending his employment pending further assessment,' the spokeswoman said.
In a statement on its website, the university describes the posts as having been made on a 'personal account'.
On the account, which appears to have since been taken down, Mr Ali described himself as a 'Palestinian', 'Sydney Uni academic' and used the gay term 'twink'.
Mr Ali was also an organiser for the anti-Israel rally held in Sydney on October 9, 2023 that led to the ugly scenes at the Opera House, about which he later told the ABC there were only 'a small group of troublemakers'.
In 2015 as a medical student, he was cleared by the university for misconduct after interrupting a lecture by former British Army Colonel Richard Kemp.
The University of Sydney was the scene of the longest-running pro-Palestine encampment, which had been on campus for two months last year.
In September, the university's vice-chancellor Mark Scott apologised to Jewish students and staff, admitting he had 'failed them' in his handling of the encampment and spruiking changes to the university's 'policy settings'.
Other cases of academics being investigated by the university for threatening posts include Joel Griggs, a casual staff member who called the Australian Jewish Association a 'fascist terror cell' and 'dangerous psychopaths' and said it 'couldn't be too hard to find out where these people live' in a post on X in August.
The university found Mr Griggs' posts so concerning, they referred them to NSW Police but said he could not be professionally disciplined due to the posts being made in a 'personal capacity'.
Mr Griggs had also said of Sky News hosts Andrew Bolt, Peta Credlin, Rita Panahi and Rowan Dean: 'Well [sic] get you one day, you seditious, traitorous scum… 'I was just doing my job' won't cut it when the hoi polloi finally start lopping off heads.'
The university also spent five months investigating senior lecturer Dr Stewart Jackson who had tweeted in December: 'I rather think Palestinians don't wish death to all Jews, but in the current circumstances, I would forgive the sentiment...'
Last month, a university human resources staff member told the Australian Jewish Association – which had made the complaint about the tweet – it had been determined the post was made in 'his personal capacity and not as an employee of the University'.
'As such, the University does not propose to take formal disciplinary action against Dr Jackson with respect to the post,' the staff member said.
'Notwithstanding this position, the University has provided guidance to Dr Jackson with respects to his future conduct.'