Withdrawal of Professor Peter MacDonald’s keynote at the University of Melbourne

Professor Peter MacDonald, an Australian cardiologist had his invitation to deliver the annual John Clarebrough Memorial Lecture at the University of Melbourne and St Vincent’s Hospital withdrawn in June 2026, weeks after the event had been publicly announced.

In a letter sent on 12 June 2026, the organisers stated that "concerns" had been raised regarding remarks previously attributed to MacDonald that had been "widely interpreted as antisemitic," and argued that his participation risked distracting from the event. The allegations referred to comments he made during a Palestinian Justice community forum in 2025. MacDonald was not informed of the identity behind the complaints nor given an opportunity to respond before the invitation was withdrawn.

According to certain sources, the organisers were aware that similar allegations made against MacDonald in 2025 had already been investigated and dismissed following an independent inquiry at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney. Despite this, they upheld the cancellation. The University of Melbourne stated that the decision was intended to ensure the lecture could proceed without disruption. The incident occurred amid broader concerns among Australian healthcare professionals that advocacy related to Palestine is increasingly being restricted through allegations of antisemitism and the adoption of the IHRA definition in professional disciplinary processes.