Fired Prof: I’m Not Anti-Semitic, I Only ‘Faintly’ Imposed Swastika On Israeli Flag
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Aiden Pink September 3, 2019
A university lecturer in Australia who was fired amid allegations of anti-Semitism argued that he only “faintly” superimposed a swastika on the Israeli flag during a classroom PowerPoint, The Age reported.
The University of Sydney fired political economy lecturer Tim Anderson in February after numerous warnings about his conduct and use of social media, including posing with a student wearing a badge that said “death to Israel.” The final straw was when he projected the Nazi symbol over the Israeli flag.
But Anderson claims that he is being retaliated against because he lodged formal complaints, and even threatened a lawsuit, against senior university administrators while under internal investigation over the swastika episode.
Besides, Anderson argued, he only “faintly” projected the swastika in the first place.
Anderson was convicted in 1990 of a 1978 bombing at a Sydney hotel hosting a delegation of heads of government, but the verdict was overturned on appeal. While teaching at the university, Anderson made what the Age described as “numerous solidarity visits to Syria and North Korea.”
Anderson, who is being supported by Australia’s National Tertiary Education Union, also claims that the dismissal violated his right as a professor to intellectual freedom. When asked what imposing a swastika on the Israeli flag had to do with intellectual freedom, NTEU secretary Michael Thomson replied: “It’s part of what Tim’s courses were.”
The case is scheduled for mediation on September 18.
Aiden Pink is the deputy news editor of the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aidenpink
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
