Day 11 at the Gaza Solidarity Camp started with the Vice Chancellor’s response and came to a head with a large crowd gathering to protect the encampment.
What happened at the “Support the camp!” rally?
After social media posts called for the wider community to defend the USyd Gaza solidarity encampment against a Zionist counterprotest coined the “March for a Safe Campus”, the Friday May 3 rally drew a large crowd. Standing across the Quad lawns, hundreds of people were in attendance with anti-Zionist Jewish organisations such as Jews Against the Occupation and the Tzedek Collective. The protest also drew media coverage by Reuters, SBS, ABC and Channel 10, as well as Sky News. The Zionist counterprotest began at the City Rd end of Eastern Avenue, and worked their way towards the camp.
Yasmine Johnson, one of the camp’s organisers, began the speakout with a series of chants such as, “Free Free Palestine”, “Columbia first, USyd next, all universities must divest”, and then spoke about how USyd maintains ties to weapons manufacturers such as Thales and Raytheon.
Amidst the speculation about the length of the encampment, Johnson explained that she plans for the encampment to continue “until USyd meets our demands”. She acknowledged that Zionists are here to “intimidate us”, and warned that the mainstream media is on their side. She emphasised that this is a “peaceful protest, we don’t want to engage with the Zionists if they come here looking for trouble.”
Next, Nick Riemer, President of the USyd branch of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) spoke about the union’s solidarity: “we will be with you for as long as it takes”. Riemer said that Zionists who tout “safety on campus” contradict their support for a “genocide of unimaginable proportions”, where Palestinians are unsafe. He explained that Zionists want an “individualised safety”, but we are “not atomised individuals, but members of communities.” He emphasised that universities should be “places of critique…even if doing so is confronting. Not places where prejudice is reinforced or gratified”.
Riemer commented on the both-sideism exhibited by university management, specifying how Mark Scott imputed dog-whistles about misconduct on part of the campers with “unsubstantiated claims”.
“We welcome the public comment that Mark Scott, the Vice Chancellor, has given to allowing this encampment to stay. Make no mistake: we will hold him to it. It is the absolute, bare minimum that he should be doing. But he has clearly only made this commitment because he’s been forced to, and he’s clearly trying to play both sides”.
Riemer criticised the Zionist movement as “morally bankrupt, with no real intellectual fiber, and no real principle other than apartheid and genocide”. He also showed solidarity with academics such as John Keane and Randa Abdel-Fattah who have been subject to Zionist attacks as of recent.
Johnson shared the story of her grandmother’s oppression in the Holocaust, and how that has informed her beliefs and subsequently, her decision to join other Jewish students in protest against the occupation of Palestine.
Vivienne Porzsolt from Jews Against Occupation began her speech calling for a treaty for First Nations in her Acknowledgement of Country. She denounced Zionists for wanting to “deny Palestinians their existence”, and carrying out a narrative of “eternal suffering”, which is “untrue”. Porzsolt said she has not seen such solidarity since the Vietnam War, and that “Palestine is the focus of international human rights, as we say “not in our name”. She characterised Zionism as “a fortress of fear” and that “it is time to abandon the false security of Zionism.” Porzsolt concluded by encouraging Zionist counter-protestors to “join us in solidarity”, as this movement will liberate everyone.
Mark Levine, an anti-Zionist Jewish academic who works at the University of California spoke about how his son was present when the UCLA encampment was attacked by police and “Zionist thugs”. He denounced this as a “war on academic expression…freedom of expression…and humanity”.
Maggie from the anti-Zionist Tzedek Collective, said they are “happy there are so many Jews involved, because Zionists pretend to represent them”. Maggie stated that Zionists “have to be unsafe because the alternative is that they are wrong” and that the “Zionist ideology offers a safety, which is a lie, bought with the blood of Palestinians and run under a corrupt government”. They continued by saying that far-right groups such as the Australian Jewish Association peddle anti-Semitic theories such as “replacement theory”, using their support for Israel to “greenlight their racism and white supremacy”.
Harrison Brennan, President of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) and member of the encampment since the first night, proclaimed “enough is enough” in reference to the University’s ongoing ties with Israeli institutions. Brennan spoke about how “we stand together in opposition to genocide taking place” alongside students across American and Australian universities. He concluded by saying that “if we keep this up, we can win and show the world the importance of student activism in fighting for Palestine…and fighting for everyone.”
Ahmed Abadla, a Palestinian activist, spoke about the 1.5 million Palestinians who are sheltering in tents in Rafah at the moment. Abadla noted that “Palestinians are hearing your voices, they can see you and they appreciate your work here”. He denounced the Israeli government as a “barbaric entity”, calling for the “Israeli apartheid state to be dismantled”. Abadla concluded that “Zionists should be ashamed of themselves, and at some point Zionism should become a curse word that sparks shame”, before reminding attendees to show up at the May 15 rally for the 76th anniversary of the Nakba.
Associate Professor at UNSW and anti-Zionist Jewish academic Peter Slezak spoke next, saying that “there should be many more Jews who say we stand against the Zionist project which is a racist enterprise”. Slezak observed that the moral panic across the Zionist community proves that there is no defence for the genocide, and that “we are on the right side of history”. He explained the “from the river to the sea” slogan does not mean the annihilation of anyone, but to liberate Palestinians and stand up for human rights.
President and Vice President of the UTS Palestinian Youth society, Salma and Omar, then spoke about their pride seeing the significant support for Palestine at the rally and all encampments. Salma said her family in Gaza have asked her to extend her support while Omar spoke about how he had been affected by the Palestinian struggle for his entire life. He then asked for a moment of silence to remember the Palestinian martyrs who had been “murdered by the dirty Israeli occupation”.
Before the final speaker, Johnson made the announcement that the Palestinian rally attendees total “more than twice the size” of the Zionist counterprotest, which led the crowd to collectively cheer.
Josh Lees of the Palestine Action Group (PAG) shamed the US universities’ response to peaceful encampments, particularly citing how the media environment helped facilitate brutal attacks by vigilantes and thugs on UCLA students whilst cops watched. Lees emphatically stated that “US universities would rather see students killed than cut ties with Israel”. He reminded protestors that it is important to remain disciplined and peaceful in the face of Zionists, but to also “show our power and that the students won’t be messed with”.
Lees celebrated the new encampments popping up in the UK, France, New Zealand and some Arab countries and then reaffirmed that we are “not up against a few politicians, but a system of imperialism and colonialism.” As mild voices of Zionist protestors were heard, Lees told the crowd to “not give them attention”, and said that “their rally is over, see you later, this is our campus.”
Lees spoke to the Rafah invasion, long peddled by the Israeli state, and that there is “no guarantee Israel will stop there”, pointing to the history of attacks and ongoing threats of starting a war in Lebanon. He concluded by reminding attendees of the longevity of the PAG Sunday rallies, now entering their 30th consecutive week, and that the Palestinian movement for liberation will be continued not just in the “coming months” but “possibly years”.
Johnson continued Lee’s sentiments about the importance of the movement, explaining messages from Bisan, a journalist the same age as her in Gaza, as well as witnessing a photograph of a tent where it was written that Palestinians “see the encampment in Sydney”.
As chants like “Albanese/Biden/Mark Scott you will see, Palestine will be free” continued, Johnson was told that the Zionist counter-protestors would be approaching the encampment, and reportedly trying to tear down the camps individually. It was later confirmed that most of the counter-protestors had dispersed, and small groups were heading towards the encampment.
Across the lawn, closer to Fisher library, Zionists faced the encampment, carrying posters which read “Hamas is a terrorist organisation” and “Attention LGBT+ for Palestine, booking a charter to Gaza, contact for free tickets”. Many wore yellow tshirts which read “don’t hate mate”, while others carried Israeli and Australian flags. As they hovered about, they were protected by an extensive row of USyd security guards, and accompanied by various media camera crews. The encampment was protected by a mass of students, staff and community members only. A human chain stood at the front of the crowd.
Additionally, those wearing Legal Observer NSW and marshal vests, taking down notes and ready to keep the environment safe, were the same students who organised the encampment.
Besides a few attempts by Zionist supporters to verbally intimidate and some Palestine protestors trying to respond, there was no escalation. The encampment chanted non-stop until counter-protestors voluntarily left university grounds soon after.
Before wrapping up the proceedings, Johnson took to the microphone to say that “they’re going to leave, we are going to stay”. She then reminded attendees of upcoming protests including the student strike on May 9, and urged people to keep coming to the encampment, even after the success of today.
How did the University respond?
On the morning of the rally, Vice Chancellor Mark Scott spoke to Patricia Karvelas on ABC Radio about the encampment. Scott acknowledged USyd’s history of protests and that the USyd encampment was the first of its kind in Australia. He also maintained the right and “responsibility to exercise free speech” to be “exhibited in a way that is not threatening…menacing…not shutting down the free speech and the work of others.”
Scott repeatedly emphasised that those represented at the encampment “aren’t only our students”, “If you assumed they were all of our students, they represent less than 0.1% of our student population”.
He asserted that life was going on as normal within the university, citing the graduations currently occurring, and the fact that in-person learning is not disrupted. He acknowledged the “discomfort” and “upset” experienced by Jewish students and staff, but followed that up by saying “but I don’t think that it is an unsafe space”, calling it a “heightened environment”.
Upon the question of antisemitism, Scott spoke to investigations of complaints but did not specify if it was relating to antisemitism or the misconduct alleged in a previous email to the student body. He continued that, overall the encampment has been “peaceful”, citing the campers’ respect during the ANZAC Day Dawn Service and at graduations.
As for slogans like “from the river to the sea”, he suggested that if Palestinian supporters feel that “their use of that phrase is being misinterpreted, that it doesn’t mean what our Jewish community is interpreting it to mean, they should use another phrase. Why use a phrase that is open to misinterpretation and that is so hurtful? Say what you mean, mean what you say.”
When asked about the calls for a global intifada, Scott referenced the time when management cancelled a rally on university premises which called for a global intifada.
He continued that we have to “look at it in context” and that there is extensive analysis of “what exactly people mean by that phrase”. Scott then asked protestors to be clear when they “use language like that”, and “look for language that others will not find confronting or upsetting”.
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