Sydney University Student council calls for the abolition of Israel

At a general meeting of Sydney University’s Student Representative Council, anti-Israel students turned their backs when a Jewish student condemned Hamas.

The meeting passed motions rejecting the new definition of Antisemitism adopted by all Australian universities, the abolishment of Israel and the university’s involvement in academic exchange and joint research programs.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry has issued a statement saying it “expects the university to promptly and firmly disavow the motion.”

The ACAJ also condemned the openly antisemitic conduct leading up to and present at the meeting.

The statement said: “Speakers went on to assert that they know better than Jewish people what anti-Jewish racism consists of; that Jews are using the definition of antisemitism to stifle free speech,and that there is “no such thing as Jewish self-determination in Israel”.

They repeatedly called for the abolition of the State of Israel while evading the issue of how this would impact on the majority Jewish population.

A member of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students told the meeting that if AUJS members had not turned up, there would have been a quorum. He said they stayed because they welcomed the opportunity to debate.

One student, speaking for the motion, claimed that she came from Brazil to where her family had migrated following surviving the Holocaust.

Michele Goldman, CEO of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, commented: “Our organisation had communicated with the University before the meeting to discuss concerns about student safety and wellbeing, given what transpired at the previous SRC meeting last August. While we acknowledge and appreciate the effort that the University went to in order to ensure that the meeting went ahead smoothly, the core purpose of the meeting was to vote on motions that were inherently racist.”

Jack Mars, Public Affairs Coordinator at Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) stated: “The meeting revealed a general lack of knowledge about Jewish history and compassion towards lived Jewish experiences. It was emotionally draining, and many comments made cut to the core of our identity. Nevertheless, AUJS values dialogue, we value a chance to share our experiences, we are hurt that our peers rejected nuance, space for the Jewish perspective on these issues, and rejected an attempt by the University to address the antisemitism crisis on campus.”

Simone Abel, Head of Legal at Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) noted that: “Among the vile motions put forward at the SGM to raucous student applause was one that effectively called for Israel and its Jewish population to commit suicide. The motions and the communications about the SGM also used age-old antisemitic tropes to dehumanise Jewish people. These motions will have zero consequence for the suffering of Israelis and Palestinians alike in a faraway conflict, but they will have real consequence for Jewish and Israeli students here.”

David Knoll, a director of the Australian Academic Alliance against Antisemitism (5A), said: “It is profoundly racist to deny the right of self-determination to the Jewish people and only the Jewish people, which this SRC would have the University do. Any reasonable person would expect the University to disavow and disassociate itself from this resolution quickly and firmly.”

A sydney University spokesperson said: “We have a large and diverse community at the University and know there are a range of views among our members, some sharply divided and strongly held. Safety and wellbeing is always our prime concern, and as a university we’re also deeply committed to academic freedom and freedom of speech – we continue to support the right of our students to express their views in a safe, respectful and lawful manner.

We know that some students hold strong and vocal views on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Student representative and student-led groups operate independently and do not represent the views of the University and we are aware nearly 200 students attended the meeting, which represents a small fraction of our total student body.

Members of student representative bodies are required to abide by our policies and codes of conduct and we don’t hesitate to take appropriate disciplinary and other action when we determine there has been a breach.

The definition of antisemitism developed by the Group of Eight universities and endorsed by Universities Australia has been added to our resources accompanying our anti-racism statement (pdf, 157KB), and will be used by decision makers to assess complaints and allegations of antisemitism.”

In line with the core principles of freedom of speech and academic freedom, we will not restrict student exchanges, academic partnerships or institutional relationships with any country or industry. The continuation of our partnerships with defence and security industries to conduct research in the interests of Australia’s national security is important to us and we are not reconsidering any of our research partnerships.

We also commissioned a review of our policies and processes to ensure they’re appropriate and fit for purpose as we safeguard the wellbeing of our community, academic freedom and freedom of speech, and the effective operations of the University into the future. Following significant consultation we will release five new or revised policies to our community soon.

We reject any attacks on members of our community because of their racial background, including antisemitism in all its forms. “