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U of Sydney fires lecturer who called Jewish students ‘depraved baby-killers’

The termination was announced a day after the Chanukah terrorist attack on Sydney’s popular Bondi Beach.

Sydney's central business district as seen from the Sydney Tower Observation Deck. Credit: MDRX via Wikimedia Commons.
Sydney’s central business district as seen from the Sydney Tower Observation Deck. Credit: MDRX via Wikimedia Commons.

The University of Sydney on Monday fired a staff member who was filmed verbally attacking a group of Jewish students in October.

The termination was announced a day after the Chanukah terrorist attack on the city’s popular Bondi Beach, which killed 15 people—including a 10-year-old girl and an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor—and wounded dozens of others.

“Are you a Zionist?” staff member Rose Nakad asked a group of Jews in a video filmed and widely circulated two months ago. “In your name, they’re shredding children bit by bit. … You should be making it stop.

“You’re disgusting,” she added. “You are depraved. … You are depraved baby-killers.”

The university said in a statement that the decision “followed careful consideration in line with our clear expectations of behavior and our obligation to make sure our campuses are safe and welcoming for all.

“Hate speech, antisemitism and harassment have no place at our university, and when our codes of conduct are breached, we do not hesitate to take disciplinary action,” it added.

The statement did not refer to the timing of the termination.

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