A prominent Sydney academic sacked amid a Nazi swastika scandal claims he only "faintly" superimposed the symbol over the Israeli flag in lecture slides disseminated to his students.

Former political economy lecturer Tim Anderson argues he was fired by the University of Sydney because of bullying and harassment complaints he lodged against senior staff while he was under investigation over the swastika incident and other issues.

He also threatened vice-chancellor Michael Spence with a defamation lawsuit during the investigation.

Sacked Sydney University lecturer Tim Anderson with PhD student Jay Tharappel during a trip to North Korea. Credit:Facebook

The full extent of the battle between Australia's most prestigious university and its former staffer is revealed in court documents as part of Dr Anderson's challenge to his dismissal, due for mediation this month.