University Of Sydney Tightens Oversight Of Honi Soit After Article Sparks Controversy

A recent controversy at the University of Sydney has prompted the university to announce it will strengthen “oversight” of its student newspaper Honi Soit, following backlash over an article published earlier this month.

The article, written by a student and published on April 22, 2026, appeared under the title “Who’s Afraid of Hezbollah/Houthis/Hamas/Islamic Jihad”. It was later removed after complaints from Jewish groups were raised.

The pro-Palestinian article drew ire thanks to lines like “The resistance deserves our unconditional support until victory” and “Glory to all our martyrs. From Gadigal to Gaza, we’ll have an ­Intifada.”

The article describes October 7 as the beginning of Gaza’s Holocaust, calls for justice for a dismissed academic, and identifies “the police, Labor, Zionism and Israel” as a common enemy.

The University of Sydney confirmed it had requested the article be removed and said it is now assessing the matter under its student complaints procedures. In a statement, the university said: “We’re extremely concerned about a recent article in the student newspaper Honi Soit – and last week asked for it to be removed online as a matter of urgency while we undertake an assessment in line with our complaints procedures.”

It added that while Honi Soit is published by the Students’ Representative Council and editorial decisions are made independently of the university, students are still required to comply with university policies and codes of conduct.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Joanne Wright said: “It’s completely unacceptable this article was published.”

She also said the university was reviewing potential additional measures, such as expanded editorial training for student editors and strengthened oversight processes, including extending the independent editorial training provided annually by the Walkley Foundation to all editors of Honi Soit and members of SRC autonomous collectives.

The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), the federal higher education regulator, has also confirmed it is making inquiries into the matter.

The controversy has attracted criticism from student and community groups, with the Australasian Union of Jewish Students saying it was “appalled” by the publication of the article and raising concerns about campus safety and “extremist” content in student media.

Honi Soit editors have stated the article was part of an “autonomous edition” under the USyd Queer Action ­Collective, and that they were not involved in its editorial process, with the edition being managed independently of the regular editorial team.

“This was an autonomous edition of Honi, meaning we did not edit it. The editorial ethos behind the publication of this article cannot be explained by us, as we were not party to it. The edition is titled Mardi Soit to differentiate it from regular editions of Honi Soit.”

The university has said it will continue its investigation and determine whether any policies or codes of conduct were breached, with further actions possible depending on the outcome.

City Hub has reached out to Honi Soit and USyd Queen Action Collective for comment.