This Wednesday Students for Palestine held a speak-out for Gaza outside Fisher Library and chanted down Eastern Avenue for a Free Palestine and for the University to cut ties with Israel.
The speak-out was chaired by USyd SRC’s Welfare Officer Jasmine Al-Rawi, who began by condemning both the government and USyd’s involvement with the genocide in Palestine. “Our government recently handed Elbit Systems, the Israeli weapons company, 917 million dollars to further their expansion of weapons used to massacre Palestinians. And our university has ties to weapons companies like Thales who have done extensive research collaboration with Elbit Systems as well.
“Elbit Systems prides themselves with all the weapons that they make, that are field tested on Palestinians. So we refuse to let our university get away with this, we refuse to let our government get away with this, and we refuse to let life continue as normal while a genocide is happening in front of our eyes.”
The first speaker for the event was Palestinian student activist Leighlyan. They spoke to the olive tree’s connection to Palestinians, “Olive trees provide an undying connection to our ancestors and are as such deeply embedded in Palestinian identity. When Israeli settlers destroy our flora and farms, they do so not only to claim the land as theirs but to terrorise the indigenous Palestinians that remain there.”
They further commented on USyd’s ties to Israel: “It is impossible to ignore our university’s complicity in this violence. The bulldozers used to uproot Palestinian olive trees that are being used today to level homes were designed by the Israel Institute of Technology, the same institute that our university runs a medical exchange program with.”
Chair of USyd’s Arabic Studies Department Dr Lucia Sorbera spoke about the targeting of Palestinian artists and academics. “According to the network Scholars Against the War on Palestine, Israel has bombed all eleven universities in Gaza, including the Islamic University of Gaza, Al Azhar University, Al Quds Open University, University College of Applied Science, University of Palestine, Israel University, University of Gaza, Palestine Technical College, Palestine College of Nursing, and Arab College of Applied Sciences.
“We need to name them and we need to remember them. That has rendered 90,000 Palestinian students unable to continue their education. The Palestinian and Israeli scholars that are demanding a ceasefire and an exchange of prisoners is part of a genocidal strategy because in schools and universities, it is the core of the transmission of knowledge, which is essential for people to maintain a sense of who they are. It is an existential threat.”
USyd SRC’s Environment Officer Jordan Anderson then spoke of the current state of crisis Palestinians are facing and the Labor government’s inaction, “If Labor took this genocide seriously, they would call it for what it is and immediately cut ties with Israel.”
Anderson then spoke about USyd’s ties to Israel, “Yesterday, university management invited Tel Aviv University, which sits on stolen Palestinian land, to their study abroad festival.
“It indeed signifies another shameful attempt to normalise relations with the state committing genocide. And it should be no surprise who was positioned next to the Tel Aviv stall, actually, the US stall, as if we need any more reminders of Biden actively and unconditionally aiding and abetting.”
The final speaker was Students for Palestine member Lauren Finlayson, who spoke to the recent cancellations and funding cuts for Palestinian aid. “Just last week, the Labor Party cancelled the visas of Palestinian refugees trying to flee the war zone that is Gaza. People were finding out mid-flight that they were no longer going to be accepted into the country, leaving them stranded in foreign countries.
“On the 28th of January, the Labor Party cut all funding to UNRWA. Leaving millions of Palestinians in critical condition. People may have seen that after two months, they have reinstated this funding, totalling six million. But what does that mean when at the same time they are making a 917 million deal with Elbit Systems?”
As a final act of solidarity, Students for Palestine then potted an olive tree on New Law Lawns. Al-Rawi stated “This olive tree will be planted to honour the 31,000 Palestinians that have been killed. This olive tree will honour the millions of displaced Palestinians from 1948 till today. It will honour the millions of Palestinian refugees who are displaced across the world and within Palestine and Israel.”
Students Against War will be holding another speak-out on March 27 at 12pm outside F23 to protest the University’s ties with Israel and present management with their petition.
