Management at the University of Sydney have banned a pro-Palestine student meeting hosted by Solidarity, a socialist organising group, entitled “Palestine: The Case for a Global Intifada”.
The event, set to be held on Wednesday 1 November in the Carslaw building, was blocked by Vice Chancellor Mark Scott saying that the event “is not to take place in any room or on any of the lands of the University of Sydney.” The event was relocated to Victoria Park.
Scott informed University of Sydney Union (USU) President Naz Sharifi of the ban via email and asked for this information to be relayed to members of Solidarity: “This ban is taken as a reasonable and proportionate regulation of activities within the University to fulfil its duty to foster the wellbeing and safety and students under the Charter of Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom (5(3)). Failure to comply with this directive by any student may constitute misconduct under the University of Sydney (Student Discipline) Rule 2019 (2.1 (1) (p)).”
Scott justified the ban saying, “Posters advertising the meeting…have used an image of Hamas forces breaking into the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, and this, combined with mention of a case for Global Intifada, carry the reasonable imputation that the meeting may be linked to support for terrorist activities.”
“The University has made it clear that while it supports students and staff engaging in public discourse, including by staging demonstrations in accord with the limits in the Charter, it will not tolerate any pro-terrorist statements or commentary, including support for Hamas’s recent terrorist attacks,” said Scott, also noting that the event — a forum hosted by students — had not been booked through the University and that security had not been contacted for “security arrangements”.
The USU endorsed the University’s decision in their email to Solidarity: “To be clear, USU is advising that this event must not proceed on University groups, and is not approved by the USU to occur.”
The USU cited that the club is not registered with the USU and that the event was not submitted to USU for approval as reasons to disapprove the event. The USU also echoed the political reasons in Scott’s email saying, “This event is assessed as posing a material risk to campus safety and security.”
In response to this ban, National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) USyd Branch President Nick Riemer posted a letter he sent to the Vice Chancellor in protest emphasising that “the university must be a place of critical and independent thought.”
In the letter, Riemer called for the ban to be rescinded, “This decision is a serious affront to academic freedom, freedom of assembly and freedom of political speech on campus.” He said that this decision places the University on the side of an Israeli state “responsible for genocidal war-crimes”.
Addressing the claims that Scott made about the use of the word “Intifada”, Riemer said, “‘Intifada’ refers to an ‘uprising’, and is used in relation to many different kinds of political and military activity. As I reminded you in my original email, armed resistance is a right of an occupied people.”
“Short of considering any act of Palestinian resistance as definitionaly terrorist – exactly the position of the Israeli government and its international supporters, which your decision reinforces – the presence of the term ‘intifada’ cannot possibly justify banning a matter.”
Riemer further noted that there was no explanation of how an image of the bulldozer could be “construed in any way as ‘support for terrorism’. He also noted that the poster contained a larger image of a mass protest by Palestinian people.
In response to this decision, Solidarity hosted a rally against the decision at 12pm today, with Riemer, and Jake Lynch, USyd Peace and Conflict Studies Professor, speaking at the protest. Recently, pro-Palestine rallies and events at USyd have seen a considerable police and campus security presence.
Students from Solidarity told Honi, “We declared our right to call for a global Intifada to stop Israel’s genocide in Gaza and to stand in solidarity with Palestine on campus. Just like the weekend rallies, we chanted ‘Israel out of West Bank, Israel out of Gaza, Israel out of Palestine, long live the Intifada.’ As well as ‘Intifada, Intifada, Intifada, long live the Intifada.'”
“All over the world, there is a relentless attempt to equate support for Palestinian liberation with anti-Semitism and terror. This argument is being used shamelessly to provide cover for the genocide that Western governments are supporting. So it very important that in response to management’s attack we say Palestinians have the right to resist Israel by whatever means necessary.”
