Synopsis
Sydney University was the first Australian encampment to open in solidarity with American Universities on April 23rd.
It was open to 17th June and faced a barrage of attempt to shut it down going all the way through the period.
The orchestrated campaign between pro-Israeli organisations, media all gave the same biased messaging portraying peace camps as “Hamas Camps” or “Terrorist Camps” and stating that Jewish students feel unsafe on campus.
I’ve expanded this article from my initial outrage at an exaggerating post from a pro-Israeli group (the original title of this article was “Scottish people are not very good at not shouting at inanimate objects!” - hence the URL) to reporting on the counter-protests and next steps. There are a mix of tenses in the article reflecting updates and poor proof reading!
Video Synopsis
⚠️ NOTE: ⚡️ LIVE Article: As with many Sleekit Scotsman articles - this will be updated post date of original publication with an edit history below.
This reflects the addition of new information as it comes to light and is intended to keep the article relevant, up to date and more importantly a comprehensive reference with quoted public sources for pro-Palestine advocates to build on.
🙏 My only request is that you quote Sleekit Scotsman ☮️🏴 as a reference if re-using information or images: 🔗🌳👉 https://linktr.ee/sleekitscotsman
‼️Article Updated
Article updated: Tue 2nd July 2024 (Sleekit Scotsman ☮️🏴 articles are updated periodically to add latest information on the subject of the article for relevance)
2nd July 2024: Epilogue: Camp Closure - how it happened, why it happened and what’s next. EPILOGUE: Camp Closure (17-22 June 2024)
11th June 2024: Added in Chancellor’s Response (THE VICE-CHANCELLOR RESPONDS) and pro-Israeli lobby class action (EPILOGUE: PRIVATE LEGAL ACTION).
14th May 2024: Just a video from artist Macklemore recording awesome protest song “Hind’s Hall” - who happened to be in Sydney touring when it dropped and met with protesting Sydney University students! (see ENCORE: Macklemore meets Sydney Uni protestors 13 May)
Contents
Pro-Israel Counter Protest - 3rd May 2024
ENCORE: Macklemore meets Sydney Uni protestors 13 May
EPILOGUE: Camp Closure (17-22 June 2024)
Australian University Encampments
I’ve been most outraged in the whole Gaza situation by the politics and manipulation driving the Governments of enabling countries backing Israel - primarily the AUKUS countries.
Part of that it suppressing free speech.
I was so proud when my University of Sydney on April 23rd started their own encampment.
…And then an orchestrated campaign of demonisation occurred to shut the camp down - pressured in the background by a pattern of pro-Israeli narrative - all singing off the same song sheet.
The orchestration is:
Narrative Agreed - to apply to ALL at encampments
Language: “pro-Hamas”, “pro-Terrorist”, “pro-rape”
Narrative: “making Jewish students feel unsafe, staying off campus”
Emotion: “like the Hitler Youth”, '“terror not seen since 1930s Germany”
Channels
Pro-Israeli “Jewish representative organisations”: Pro-Israeli organisations stepping up campaign of outrage on social media
Pro-Israeli Press: - News Corp of course - specifically The Australian and Sky News - continuing the demonising narrative
Pro-Israeli Politicians: Speaking out on in public against the marches
Thursday: Email send by Sydney Uni Vice-Chancellor to all students threatening to take disciplinary action against students: to investigate the encampment for specific incidents. I spoke to a student to day who noted they were blatantly untrue or incorrect and they replied back today with a public statement
Friday: Alternative Pro-Israeli demonstrations simultaneously arranged on campuses by the newly inaugurated Australian branch of “Stand With Us” for this Friday branded as “march for safety”.
The last straw for me was The Australasian Union of Jewish Students making a public statement parroting the narrative blasted all week on the above channels and then demanding a special audience with senior Government and University officials.
Like an orchestrated sequence of events.
Yep it got me.
I responded with a very long post on FB which if I was them I’d delete from a random nutter, but my points valid hence reproducing here as a refuting argument for ANY of the above channels.
FOMENTED ANTISEMITISM
Riled me up.
AUJS Public Statement on Encampments at Universities
Made here Wed 1st May on their website - https://aujs.com.au/aujs-statement-on-encampments-at-universities/
Also various social media including the post I responded to: https://www.facebook.com/aujsfb/posts/pfbid02zfUHRy2yiGwqE6K6WTSJVz6SUtTH2YpQ9pcqhTFQxCuQtUH8bzn75Sr3RwUjSpAZl
Statement:
Since the horrific attacks of October 7th, Jewish students across Australia and New Zealand have faced an unprecedented increase in fear, intimidation, and harassment. Jewish students have been targeted at university events and demanded to declare their political stances during classes publicly, with their orientation week stalls vandalised. As a result, many Jewish students have decided to avoid their university campuses altogether. This is completely unacceptable in Australia.
Now, with encampments at Australian and New Zealand universities that mimic those seen at Columbia University in the United States, the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) is deeply concerned that we are witnessing a further escalation in the vilification of Jewish students. We are seeing the glorification of violent terrorism against Jews, with public displays of support for Hamas alongside radical, non-student external actors entering campus. If students who praise Hamas aren’t reined in, we risk going down the pathway of the United States – where students who chant calls for the destruction of Tel Aviv and globalising of the intifada and ‘O Al-Qassam [Brigades], you make us proud, kill another soldier now!’ have made an impossible and unsafe environment for Jewish students. We must do better.
We will always defend robust debate, but racial vilification is never acceptable – no matter against whom it is directed. And these students are vilifying Jews with threats, intimidation, harassment, and the endorsement of terror organisations committed to destroying the Jewish State.
AUJS has been in correspondence with the Federal Education Minister’s office, the Shadow Education Minister and various vice-chancellors to articulate the concerns and experiences of Jewish students.
In response to the escalating concerns on campuses, AUJS is calling for the following:
A roundtable with the Federal Education Minister, state education ministers, and university vice-chancellors.
Universities must stipulate, implement and enforce clear policies that prohibit hate speech on campus.
Universities must require students to show their student identification to ensure that external extremist actors do not hijack our campuses.
Universities must provide more support, including counselling and security measures so that students may feel psychologically and physically secure on campus.
For media enquiries, contact:
The following quotes can be attributed to Noah Loven, President of AUJS:
“Jewish students are being vilified, and we are calling for universities and government to do more to tackle these groups who are being openly hostile towards Jewish students.
It’s simply not safe for many Jewish students on campus at the moment, and it’s unacceptable that many feel they cannot attend their lectures and classes in person without fear of intimidation, harassment and violence. This is not an issue of free speech – it is of vilification and the endorsement of terror. Some of these extreme groups are crossing the line, and that’s why we’re calling on universities and government to do more to ensure campuses are safe again for all.”
Background:
AUJS is the peak representative body for Jewish student societies across Australian and New Zealand universities. AUJS is committed to ensuring our campuses remain safe and inclusive spaces for all students.
My Response - Refute point by point
Writing long diatribes is just not like me I know…. 🤦♂️
Perhaps a Gen whatever they are now person will be switched off by the first paragraph and go on to do something else but what can you do!
My Post (if still there!)
Guys I respectfully disagree but you are also being disingenuous - this is a long reply but I do need to challenge your points and appreciate your consideration.
You are blatantly trying to build a public narrative based on a biased position and generic assertions, and I am disappointed in your organisation.
1) You are pluralising specific incidents and generalising
2) The ZFA's own 2023 survey on antisemitism on campus notes 72% of incidents are either criticism of Israel or a subjective interpretation of people or events as intimidating - essentially expressing a view that you did not like - which is the actual issue here.
3) "Mimic USA campuses" - no it is very different here, as are the actual rallies
4) "Vilification, threats, unsafe, not coming to University" - where is the proof for this? The protests are and have always been safe spaces for Jewish people who attend, speak, march and speak out on this. Disagreement with policy is a different thing.
5) Orientation week 'stalls trashed ' - more than one stall/event? Orientation week in Sydney you would note that pro-Israeli supporters filmed themselves walking around the campus tearing down pro-Palestine posters in direct contravention of University de-platforming regulations.
6) External Actors on Campus - so is everyone in Stand With Us protesting on campuses tomorrow going to be students then?
7) Your use of emotive and offensive language - "hate", "pro-Hamas", "pro-rape" -every protestor? Don't be ridiculous. Are you "pro-genocide", "pro-breaking international law/global opinion", "pro-IDF Australians fighting for them"? The majority of protestors are pro-humanitarian and against the unspeakable disproportionate suffering inflicted on Palestinians. I take offence at your characterisation of a population of decent protestors to suit an agenda.
8 ) "Endorsement of a terrorist organisation" - I endorse a right to resist occupation (does not need to be physically on land as Gaza) as protected under international law. I do not condone events of October 7th. There is a big difference.
9) Interpretation of language - "Intifada" (resistance of oppression - as above, and "globalising" refers to public opinion), "from the river" - peace and equality in a geographic area - you can't take the high ground with your interpretation and suppress freedom of speech. Is this what you now want legally and policy-wise defined as "hate speech" ? Are we going to be reduced to protesting with symbols such as the watermelon and coded language to appease? Now that’s oppression based on interpretation.
You demand special, exclusive treatment here with access to Government, Academic Boards etc. based on the above exaggerated fallacies and the assumption your own narratives are being right to shut down freedom of speech for an opinion against a foreign state you don't like.
Do not try to orchestrate an agenda and narrative, parroted by The Australian Newspaper, Sky News and the various pro-Israeli representative organisations in parallel.
I strongly object to your misrepresentations as part of a broader strategy of suppression.
This is the nature of calling out true antisemitism as expressed by the President of APAN to a whole rally in Sydney, not something likely to be seen much:
I appreciate you considering these points.
What needed said
These groups are “building towards something” and driving public opinion on various fronts to make the politicians jobs easier - State and Federal - if there’s action.
So got your narrative, got some newspaper headlines you can point to, got an action plan and demand a meeting with politicians and senior education figures because hey, who wants to be seen as not taking a meeting on “hate speech, antisemitism and violence on campus”? (if you didn’t you can sure as heck appreciate you’d be instantly splashed on multiple social media channels/newspapers as “Minister X refused to take our meeting which is indicative of….”)
Important to call out the use of ZFA proprietary statistics, that thankfully unlike US statistics were broken down to be able to see the different categories of “antisemitism” on campus revealing a different story.
The generalisation of incidents and extrapolation annoys me also.
And finally the selective interpretation of language and phrases as antisemitic which is BS.
I’d like to think the politicians here are not as blatantly and transparently funded by pro-Israeli lobbies like the US where the various “antisemitism” lobby can be passed quickly. The lobby here is bad enough and I haven’t even looked into direct funding.
I didn’t even mention the genuine Sydney University specific issue protested being the links to Israeli Defence organisations and ultimately down the supply chain the weapons being used on the Palestinians.
And it was important to show what a decent man Nasser Mashni the President of The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network is. He was set up on the ABC by the Pro-Israeli lobby (and demonised for a crime he committed 35 years ago, completely unrelated to his advocacy) and still went on weeks later to make a firm public statement on antisemitism at a Hyde Park rally - noting Jewish Australians deserved peace and the right to live here in Australia together - whilst disagreeing on policy.
No-one shows this side of him I thought important to share.
And mirrors the thinking and goodwill behind the University protests.
GASLIGHTING THE NARRATIVE
I’m just not comfortable using the word “gas” in the same sentence as anything to do tangentially with Jewish people tbh - but unfortunately telling the same lies and narrative over and over again to incrementally shift opinion to thinking it’s true has no other word.
Who is really unsafe?
America sneezes and Australia catches a cold. Economically and politically - but hopefully not extending to the brutal strategies to quell pro-Palestinian protest taken by right wing actors.
In Australia, we’re seeing horrible posts from awful right-wing Pro-Israeli groups calling for “action on these terrorist sympathisers”.
Are the protestors being demonised and positioned as the next great Cronulla Riot victims - for a generation of angry young men to attack incited by the presentation of a non-existent Isalmophobic fear?
I wasn’t happy to read below on that attack on the Melbourne Monash University encampment overnight, but I think it speaks volumes:
Tellingly - not ONE mainstream press outlet has touched this story. It did happen in the middle of the night but should be covered today.
Sydney University - “March for a safe Campus”
The rhetoric against Sydney University has been awful - the key fomenting of “hate”, “antisemitism”, “terrorist supporters” and the usual racist tropes against “what country have we become?” - and the alleged lack of safety for Jewish students.
Except that’s not true. Multiple speakers from the Jewish community, Jewish students and academics have come out globally noting the protests are a safe space for Jews and there is no mass-harassment of Jewish students.
Undoubtedly you’ll get the odd idiot who should be slapped down and banished as self-policing but the complaints of safety are as much a fallacy as the calls of antisemitism for the slightest criticism of Israel.
And this is how it’s repeated ad naseum. I know this is a “non-mainstream” organisation and Sky News Australia the lowest of journalism - but hey, it’s air time showing the agenda and BS presentation:
See below press release from the Jewish Council of Australia who felt the need to speak out in support in the face of the constant narrative, noting no threat on campuses despite the fomented hysteria.
The association is the alternative Jewish voice to the pro-Israeli narrative. They face the most appalling hatred attacks from the pro-Israeli lobby - even personal attacks from the executive leaders of these groups on public social media.
Subjective Complaints on pro-Palestine protestor language
There are also subjective and interpretive complaints on the use of certain words.
Intifada
The word “intifada” - Arabic for uprising, applied in many countries during the Arab Spring in 2010 (Tunisia, Egypt) for example as a standard term for throwing off oppression.
Yes the events of 2000-2005 in the second Palestine “Intifada” were terrible on both sides - but it is a generic term and you can’t just ban an Arabic word because you don’t like it.
For subjective complaints of “not feeling safe” when hearing the word - by that logic every time an Israeli flag is waved in the face of a Gaza survivor or those with Palestinian relatives violently killed by the IDF have just cause in PTSD and seeing a symbol of fear.
Another example of literal use of a famous and terrible “uprising” - the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington has a page on the Warsaw Uprisings against Nazi oppression in the ghettos. The Arabic page translation literally has the same term for “uprising” as the common term.
From the River To the Sea
The use of “from the river to the sea” - meaning - as MANY Jewish groups have said never mind global opinion - peace and equality in the Holy Lands. Nothing about borders, final state setup etc.
The collective island of Ireland (Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland - part of the UK) enjoy a peace and freedom of movement whilst remaining separate countries.
The Republicans want union long term just as Scottish Nationalists want independence but that’s a separate thing from peace and equality. So again - not taking your interpretation thrown down our throats.
The Real Thugs
So in that background of false flag lack of safety - this is how Friday’s march is billed by “Stand with Us” - “march for a safe campus”:
Perhaps the right name - but the safety concerns are for the wrong audience.
Look at this post from Thursday morning from a right-wing Pro-Israeli group - glorifying someone driving up to the camp of students at 4am that morning and waving a flag - calling it a “Hamas Camp”.
You can’t tell me that’s not incitement. And you can imagine what those comments say.
And then worryingly threatening to show up and referring to the protestors as “a bunch of antisemites”:
Rallying the worst of the worst - the Swag of Deplorables (thank you Hilary) turning up with the Australian Flags and violently attacking camps - or inciting others who would have been moderate into unnecessary direct confrontation with peaceful protestors.
I’m assuming the police will be investigating.
Who’s really under threat here?
You must refute
Back to my response to the AUJS - I think I’ve just opened myself up to the trolling breaking the cardinal rule of “don’t engage with pro-Israeli propaganda”.
There will be “antisemitism” claims in addition to attempting to refute the points.
But it’s been a constant narrative over the whole protests and I’m quite frankly pissed off to read it yet again - with the cynical timing ahead of a bunch of pro-Israeli Press opportunity counter protests. You need to call it out.
The quite frankly abusive framing of “hate marches” and “antisemitism” have been stepped up even more in recent months as the conflict continues and Netanyahu’s position seems more desperate;
in particular after the 1st April killing of the World Central Kitchen staff) and
in Australia in particular over the last week since the University campus protests - the conscience of a nation - are picking up steam.
In investigating the different narratives over the last few months - there’s patterns of behaviour, patterns of language and media stories that are almost blueprinted to demonise and shut down protestors.
With Sydney of Uni being my own University I was so proud and quite emotional when they started protesting.
I don’t agree with everything they do (I told them off like petulant children for protesting on the road twice, and I never like to see a child saying the word “bloody” being old fashioned!) but I’m respectful of the overall goal continuing the tradition of humanitarian protest.
“Hate speech” and “Antisemitism” are the new “UnAmerican goddamn hippies” of the Vietnam War protests.
And who was on the right side of history?
Pro-Israel Counter Protest - 3rd May 2024
Well on Friday 3rd a large contingent of pro-Israeli protestors did come down and chant and protest against the camp.
In the meantime - the response needed to be - ignore the agitators, don’t rise to the bait. I was glad to see the encampment made this clear in a statement prior to the counter-protest - but also expectations from the protestors and the University:
You can see how from responding to provocation and showing the slightest hint of aggression images will immediately be blasted on social media and pumped up to the highest levels and seized on by pro-Israel MPs waiting for an excuse to suppress
There was a further specific statement on particular scenarios that all needed to understand. This is what the Sunday rallies should do to cover themselves also but I’m pleased to say I haven’t seen any issues there either - but it’s a publicly available statement to refute the pro-Israeli exaggerators trying to shut down.
Pro-Israeli Contingent: A lesson in PR
The pro-Israeli lobby did turn up for a march, preened for contrasting photos for The Australian and video on Sky News Australia:
wearing white shirts and suits (decency, purity etc.)
chanting peaceful songs and dancing (not angry like this pro-Palestinians … wouldn’t you be?)
appropriation of national symbols: waving the flag/singing the anthem of [insert country here we want to appropriate high ground with] “
appropriation of local colloquialisms “un-Australian”, “mate” etc. etc.
Reviewing the checklist from ZFA Insta images (stored directly on News Corp servers for efficiency I’d warrant!)
✅ White Shirt ✅ Suit Jacket ✅ Australian Flags ✅ Singing Anthem ✅ Australian Signs
✅ Consistent repeated language: “hate”, “terrorist supporters”, “pro-Hamas”, “jihadists”, “unsafe”, “from the river – destruction”, “intifada – horrible terrorism”
✅ Collectivise – ”anti-Jewish” (read: Anti-Israel policies) and write on signs
Ready steady The Australia, Sky News Australia … with those contrasting images of shabbily dressed protestors, perhaps some muscled, bearded Arab men, in traditional dress all the better - and the minority at the Opera House, perhaps a soundbite from Dutton. This stuff writes itself. I’d use AI to be more efficient (see article below in RELATED ARTICLES section on the deliberate language of lobbying in the US/Australia from leaked documents revealing the narrative.).
Fomenting nonsense for presenting “hate” when there is none with obfuscation to support the narrative of shutting down free speech.
Against an appalling, vicious genocide.
”Look over here, not at Gaza - nothing to see here but honest, clean Australians “feeling unsafe” unlike these filthy evil lefty “antisemites” “.
For reals? I’d like to think people a bit more savvy nowadays to this BS. You’d hope.
Ironic that the crowd supporting genocide and clearly supporting an overseas nation choose to present themselves as “aligned with Australian values”.
Pro-Israeli “High Ground” and supporting Australia - Really?
As to support for Israel.
Financial - Collecting Funds for Israel
Every country has a local Israel Fund raising money to send back to Israel orchestrated by the local Zionist organisation - not an inconsiderable amount - $32M from Australia in 2022.
This is sent to a central pool in Israel organised by global fundraising body Keren Hayesod. Part of the funds are spent on “national priorities” directed by the Israeli Government and part funnelled back to Zionist Associations globally - ZFA here received $3.75M direct funding 2022).
A circular economy to promote sending huge amounts of donations back to Israel and in the host country perpetuate policy (including settlement) across organisations in all states and ensure continued direct support for Israeli policy, acting as a mouthpiece for the Israeli Government in addition to collecting monies.
Is that benefiting Australia?
Pushing Israeli State Policy Locally
And what about the policy platform of ECAJ - rubbishing the UN with strong anti-Palestinian policies mirroring the Israeli Government as an enabling policy - and then having the chutzpah to call say the platform:
“enhances general Australian values of democracy and human rights, individual freedom and the rule of law; social justice and compassion; mutual understanding and respect and a fair go for all”
Seriously? Perhaps that description applies to the domestic policy platform supporting the local Jewish community - but certainly not the extensive international policies in the same platform reinforcing the policies of a brutal regime. It is a clear argument for why these organisations need clearly broken into two and the parts lobbying for Israel registered with the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme (FITS).
But in the meantime - hiding behind a “representative” single policy - I think that white shirt is stained with Palestinian blood. And that certainly isn’t benefiting Australia.
Maximum mileage and distorted view from a small contingent
Needless to say the Pro-Israeli protestors at Sydney Uni were heavily outnumbered. But you can manage that as part of the footage with camera angles of course. Followed up with some BS coverage in the Times of Israel1 - unsurprisingly “stop the hate mate” (appropriating Aussie “mate” of course).
I think I can see where the real hate is - supporting IDF and Israeli Government vengeful genocidal hatred against Palestinians whether it be Zionist Christians, Government Supporters - not all Jewish people as the lobby would have you believe.
CONTINUED SUPPRESSION
🇺🇸 Continued Political Suppression - US
To further suppress in the US - after breaking up the latest camps (violently in many cases) Congress on 2nd May 2024 had the chutzpah to pass a law forcing colleges to apply the IHRA standard when assessing antisemitic reported incidents (of which there will many subjectively reported) AND in allowing protests to go ahead OR in decisions of shutting down/closing campus.
Utterly appalling suppression - more written in RELATED ARTICLES below.
🇦🇺 Continued Political Suppression - Australia
Here in Australia continued pressure to shut down from the white shirt/suit purist brigade.
The ECAJ (self-declared representative body of all Jewish people) use not just the IHRA definition of antisemitism - but an EXPANDED version of the definition. This is their yardstick for counting statistics on reported incidents - hence for their own statistics trumpeted to the Government (similar to US ADL inflated figures presented to Congress to “justify” legislative measures - read: filed along with the Bill, don’t look too hard).
There are also subjective and interpretive complaints on the use of the words “intifada” and “from the river to the sea” as above.
Of course the media soundbites and accompanying clips complaining of the use of River/Intifada - with a wide-eyed white shirted/suited PR person appealing to hearts - makes for good television and swaying public opinion.
But if you ban these words - just like Israel banning the Palestinian flag in 1967 or China monitoring words on the internet - other symbols (watermelon) and coded language will be used instead.
But do you want to be imposing the same measures as “the only democracy in the Middle East” and the People’s Republic? What about free speech?
You need to change because we say so.
I think not.
Physical Safety of Protestors
This really is the most important thing.
There was of course no violence at the organised march. Clearly in the absence of success other means including provocation, other direct action is an approach for the encampments.
I’m more worried about the right-wing nutters, the Cronulla North-Star tattooed anti-Muslim crowd from the 2005 riots that right-wing pro-Israeli groups are fomenting division and hatred with in a calculated move.
Ironic a minority group hated by true antisemites now leveraging these same people.
They attacked Melbourne encampment in the middle of the night, a guy turned up Sydney 4am - despite watchers in Sydney and campus security - how long before they do the same, in particular as the camp grows?
I hope campus security do their job.
Private Legal Action
And the final tactic enacted which I could NOT believe - lawfare. A law firm appealing for “impacted parties” to take part in a class action against Sydney University for “racial vilification” to remove the camps.2
Pretty organised with it’s own website to join the action:
What the f*ck?
The positive points here - I HOPE - are:
It would get laughed out of Court
It would expose the fomenting of antisemitism claims - and I do hope the direct funding links between AUJC and the Adelson Foundation - funding Trump with a blatant pro-Israel extremist agenda - will be exposed, showing the fomentation and agitation to shut down free speech
I responded to this - pissed off - direct to a pro-Israeli lobby posting with usual demands and extrapolations. I’m sure many others who are meant to be represented by these organisations feel the same way.
And FB (this is as bad as Sky News on social media - I’m quoting myself):
I’m sorry but this is just WRONG. Taking the Uni to Court with the outcome ultimately affecting the futures of a bunch of kids (no offence fellow students!) protesting in good conscience a genocide with Israel as the aggressor - because of subjectively hurt feelings? Please.
It’s actually a very marginalising move and will not help the Jewish community dragged along in this at all and is a very bad look.
There IS no antisemitism on campus - just people pissed off at criticism of Israel’s brutal actions trying to silence voices.If there were any idiots making the odd comment I’d give them a skelp myself but I have never seen or heard this. It is NOT blanket antisemitism.
Just another tactic to silence voices critical of Israel.
Bloody awful.
As Uni Paper Honi Soit reported early June - the proposed suit was awaiting response from the Vice-Chancellor.
As it happens - the lawfare was never required - see Epilogue.
MACKLEMORE: Macklemore meets Sydney Uni protestors 13 May
Serendipity - Macklemore touring in Sydney the week Hind’s Halls drops - meets up with students from my Uni in solidarity - see his message below:
#freePalestine ✊🎓⛺️🇵🇸
THE VICE-CHANCELLOR RESPONDS
Finally on Monday 28th May the Vice-Chancellor of Sydney Uni (Mark Lewis) issued an all-student email detailing an offer made to the encampment after their first meeting with the student group - on “neutral” ground vs. behind closed doors where ultimatums could be made.
The students had four days to respond.
They rejected it quite rightly in two.
What students asked for
Disclose support for Israel - Either Israeli direct or part of the value chain - research ties, investments in defence companies
Sever all ties including program of divestment - appreciating actual trading strategy takes time to implement
Boycott Israeli academic institutions
Sign onto international BDS statement (I thought this a bit much and unlikely but perhaps a negotiating point)
What I suggest they also ask for:
Lewis using his position as Chair of The G8 Universities - top defence research universities in Australia - to influence the removal of direct research ties for all
Lewis continues to champion free speech at USYD - and phrases used by the protestors - and sponsors an academic study of these phrases to validate.
These conditions met - in writing and University constitutionally binding (ratified by Senate) - the camp can be broken as below releasing the unwashed into the community. Which to be fair to the pro-Israeli lobbyists would be a real risk. Of hygiene (just kidding kids! I’m pretty sure Sports Centre hot showers are being utilised here… ! 😜)
What the Vice-Chancellor actually offered
Split up in order of importance - as always, a bit of window-dressing.
Recap that accepting these terms - as it without any future actions defined - is contingent on the camp being dismantled.
Tier 1 - meant to be the meat
Investments
A “review” of our investment portfolio related to defence and security industries.
To discuss at the Senate (decision making body - that notably there is no student representative on unlike say Scottish Universities where a student rep “The Rector” is voted in by students and sits as representative)
The “review” could be done in 10 seconds reviewing a list of holdings in the portfolio against standard Bloomberg (BB) financial data to indicate those in the defence and security sector.
The BB data is granular enough to trace ownership as is part of standard equity research and market regulations to aggregate investment company holdings and report to the market to ensure no substantial shareholdings by any one company which may influence market transparency through manipulation.
It’s a standard investment process and a piece of piss to do, to use complex financial terminology - that the VC clearly relying on for such a difficult task to “leave to the adults”.
Given this list - an extraordinary meeting of the Senate could be called at short noticed to ratify a documented binding commitment to divest from these companies and ensure that not investing is built into the University Investment Policy as was done with fossil fuels.
Wouldn’t take long - and in their interest if they really want the camps dismantled as quickly as possible.
So there’s no written commitment to divesting from those companies in return for dismantling the camp and no doubt electrifying the lawns.
Research
He makes a fair point that he can’t unilaterally decide to cancel these - but the offer is poor.
Get student encampment members involved in the process of review (“working group”)
Conduct a review of institutional research ties
Make recommendations with “best efforts to deliver a report before the end of 2024” (bearing in mind offer made in May 2024) with Chancellor responding to recommendations “in a timely manner”
But again - the main ones are pretty clear and already identified and criteria for others well defined so that list can be produced and presented to the Senate or whoever else needs to decide to remove.
I’d assume that involving encampment members and their subject matter expert representatives for validation - with independent scrutiny also - would be a given, not an “offer”
So just review/recommend and no action to dismantle camp.
Tier 2 - Window Dressing
No disrespect as they sound nice but they are just “hey look over here, isn’t this nice” sweetener distractions.
Double expenditure for “Scholars at Risk” (PhD)
Allocate MySydney scholarships to humanitarian visa holders (there are none - Government policy) who meet relevant committee
Study of University involvement in Aboriginal racism - worthy of course but unrelated
“consideration” of mechanism to increase opportunities for Palestinian students - again nice, but really?
These humanitarian “offers” I would really just expect as business-as-usual as part of the Universities ethics commitment as opposed to a “concession”.
(in the sense that University should be doing all this anyway)
Response of the Pro-Israeli Lobby to the Offer
With the above being window-dressing like “agreeing a date for a date” or “talks about talks” and blatantly obvious - the pro-Israeli lobby had the gall to
Explode regarding concessions
Demand the immediate resignation of the Vice-Chancellor “unfit to protect the safety of Jewish students” - which is a) patently untrue and b) quite frankly - who the heck are you to demand the resignation of our educational institutions? (along with the various other entitled “demands” that are made).
EPILOGUE: Camp Closure (17-22 June 2024)
Soon after the June 9th threatened private legal class action against the University for perceived antisemitism on campus the University management began playing hardball.
The land the encampment was on was designated “an enclosed space” and tents found to be empty were marked as lost property and soon after loaded onto trucks to be taken away causing a flurry of protestors to remove their items from the encampment.
Camp Closure: SRC
Soon after that on the 17th June Sydney University Students for Palestine (of the Students Representative Council - SRC) announced closure of the camp:
There was some confusion over comms and whether other groups had also formally agreed to close the camp also which was not a good look and the camp was kept going by two other groups (Students Against War and Sydney University Muslim Association (SUMSA) ).
Finally on 21st June SUMSA reached an agreement with the Vice-Chancellor and the camp was disbanded.
The SUMSA Agreement
This was more of a face-saver all round.
Essentially as the Chancellor notes - there is ZERO commitment to divestment - all they have done is agreed to form a consulting body involving representatives from SUMSA (who agreed this with VC to move) and they are open to others joining for broader representation (since the SRC group didn’t respond).
The offer is unchanged from 5 June as above and he’s right - it’s completely standard practice for Universities globally to disclose and discuss - as Glasgow University in Scotland with their recent 17th May Student Rector appointment and work on their Senate.
The pro-Israeli Lobby attack angle
And the pro-Israeli Lobby aren’t letting it go. The angle they have now is to focus on collectivising SUMSA as a specific group, producing “experts” to note security concerns with their involvement in reviewing defence ties (BS even if it were true) and demand the resignation of the VC (to no doubt replace with a pro-Israeli stooge similar to the Columbia University witch hunt in the US).
This is the current daily grind orchestrated between multiple pro-Israeli groups and trotted out in the pages of The Australian literally every day. Does anyone question why these papers are giving column inches to such a minority group on a dead issue whilst ignoring an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe? Do they heck.
Why the encampment really shut
A combination of issues.
Logistically - the encampment was outside the Quad and blocking one entrance that the University were good enough to actually shut gate on to allow the students some sheltered space to store items and deliver teach-ins (Sydney weather has been truly awful).
No paths were blocked to classes and only the lawns were utilised for tents.
So physically the camp was fine. I did object to some stupid stunts such as “occupying” a bloody busy road which was pretty dangerous, disrupting and didn’t help but on the whole fine to protest.
It did block out use of the lawns for people’s graduation with the photography tent being set up round the side of the Quad and the front door could not be utilised. TBH I think graduation photographs in front of the Quad with the encampment in the background will be much more interesting in years to come.
The encampment was respectful to the ANZAC Day event that took place inside the Quad which was good and maintained good relations with campus security. They didn’t rise to pro-Israeli protestors turning up including the hooded guys walking around filming which I witnessed myself a few times.
A few factors forced the Uni’s hand - in order of influence in the Vice-Chancellor’s decision:
Private behind closed doors pressure from well connected pro-Israeli lobby groups:
personal sanctions and blackballing for the well-connected University Senate members who couldn’t have that for their own future careers in the business community (this is supposition but grounded in precedent from politicians revealing the modus operandi of pressure on them - if they can do that to Prime Ministers and other salient MPs, a Uni Vice-Chancellor is small fry)
withdrawal of millions of dollars from wealthy donators as has been modus operandi in the US.
Public threat of legal class action against the University from the law firm
Practically - University O-Week (Freshers Week, ok PC “Welcome Week”) coming up in July - requiring use of the lawns for concert and stalls.
Rejection of Uni initial “offer” of consultation - which as above wasn’t really an offer
And why did the students accept and close the encampment? Again in order of importance in the student’s decision:
Private behind closed doors pressure on individuals - the students (at least SRC group) were very keen to ensure that EVERYTHING with the University was public and on the record, even refusing to meet unless in a public space. However - there are always backchannels and “making it known” if someone refuses to meet that can’t be streamed. Students would have ”had it made known to them” that they face:
individual academic sanctions
potential personal lawsuits
blackballing from the business community for future employment
Essentially “passing it on” from the pro-Israeli lobby as banks pass on RBA interest rate rises (un-necessarily as it happens due to funding differences, but another story!)
Some concessions made to save face - really Phase 1 of divestment - disclosure and dialogue. SRC right to refuse, SUMSA probably right to accept representation by concerned minority group on these committees.
Reputation - one thing to disrupt graduations, another to disrupt O-Week and new students introduction to the University on the lawns in front of the historic building.
Cold - Sydney Winter is as we say in Scotland - shite. Thought not as bad as Scotland.
What’s Next?
The encampment gave a focal point to discussion, education (teach-ins) and raising awareness of the whole shit show that has been 76 years of brutal Israeli belligerence to the Palestinians which has been exposed since October 7th.
Noting I hope every one of the bastards in Hamas and other groups who perpetrated October 7th face justice not just the leaders that the ICC are right to seek arrest warrants for - but the individuals involved. If it was up to me, they’d have the same thing done to them. I have been careful to point this out at Palestinian rallies to be very specific on “resistance is justified” etc.
As at July 2nd - geopolitically - it’s a knife-edge:
🇱🇧🇮🇷 the military situation is volatile with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran backing them up
🇬🇧 the UK Election and what that means to duopoly majorities with a massively pro-Israeli stooge coming in as PM
🇺🇸 a senile sitting US PM
🇺🇸 a volatile massively pro-Israeli US challenger in Trump, funded again by Adelson with an open agenda to grant Israel further access to the West Bank
🇮🇱 an extreme and volatile Israeli Government - with Netanyahu making more and more concessions to the extremists every day (to concede a withdrawal from Gaza to focus on Lebanon)
🇺🇸 the US Congress bypassing the senile President passing more and more pro-Israeli Bills and doubling down on their no questions support on Israel
With the pro-Israeli lobby influence supporting all this being completely transparent now we have the Catch 22 of nothing being done - since the people who can order inquiries to get things done are the corrupted politicians themselves. And good things do not happen to those who do speak up (Republican Congressman Thomas Massie in the last few weeks).
Democratically - we can vote out or reduce the majorities of the duopoly parties in AUKUS countries - US in November, UK right now and AUS next year, but that will take time and there are no guarantees.
And in the the UK it looks like - as is the trend in Europe - the right-wing parties ironically under Brexit Farage - will make sweeping gains. And they will most probably be allied with a right-wing Israel.
When the fighting stops - I’d really like to see a focused people’s effort on exposing and fighting the pro-Israeli influence in EVERY country (central page with links to all three of my articles on AUKUS pro-Israeli lobby groups in each respective country here).
If the politicians won’t do it - we must go around them and organise in every way to do this. It needs to be a secondary goal of every activist group and there needs to be co-oridinated action between them. Ideally this would be a revival of the 2012 Russell Tribunal on Palestine (RToP) - read more here.
And on that - the various Sydney Uni pro-Palestine groups need to sort out their differences - which are minor - to present that collective front to the very pro-Israeli lobby groups that will exploit this. The situation in Gaza is bigger than these personal differences - egos shouldn’t come into it and the encampment made a huge difference in the time it was open.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article - I was so proud to see the encampment open back on April 23rd - the first in Australia 🇦🇺🎓⛺️✊🇵🇸😊
#freePalestine
RELATED ARTICLES
SubStack:
US University Protests - Congressional Witch-hunts, and Columbia as a case study in the suppression of free speech. Also a section on Stand With Us and a Sydney Uni Epilogue!
Sydney Uni Links to Israeli Defence Companies; what the protest is about:
Edinburgh University “Apology” for the Balfour Declaration:
The Language of Lobbying: The Leaked PR Guide to “Speaking up for Israel” - terminology and phrases to use to deflect, distract, defuse - literally, defending the indefensible:
Pro-Israeli Lobby in Australia (see Student Organisations section):
US Hate Crime Statistics: Misleading Representation of antisemitism. You can present anything … with your own statistics, to support a narrative:
Supporting Israel is the ultimate in “un-Australian” values. The ironic appropriation of “Australian” by the pro-Israeli propaganda lobby:
2012 Russell Tribunal on Palestine: A civil society movement then exposing Israel’s appalling record on Palestine. Today - we would have the added benefit of the transparency of the broader manipulation of Governments enabling the Gaza genocide that was not on mainstream media in 2012.
Central Link page to all three pro-Israeli lobby articles on Australian, UK and US lobbies. These are living articles constantly updated with version histories so worth reviewing periodically.
REFERENCES
The Times of Israel 3 May 2024 - “‘Stop hate mate’: Australian Jews protest antisemitism next to pro-Palestinian encampment at top university“ - https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/stop-hate-mate-australian-jews-protest-antisemitism-next-to-pro-palestinian-encampment-at-top-university/
Australian Jewish News 5 June 2024 - “Class action to hold USYD accountable for antisemitism“ - https://www.australianjewishnews.com/class-action-to-hold-usyd-accountable-for-antisemitism/