What happened today?
On Saturday May 11, an emergency rally centring around divestment was held at the USyd quad lawns, where the encampment has remained for the past 19 days.
This rally was endorsed by Students for Palestine, BDS Youth Australia, BDS Australia, Palestine Justice Movement Sydney and Vote 4 Palestine.
Saturday also marked “World Keffiyeh Day,” where Palestinians and activists urged others to don the keffiyeh, itself a cultural headdress and a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Honi Soit spoke to Shovan Bhattarai, organiser with Students for Palestine, who noted that many people tend to ask if management pressure is making things more difficult for the encampment, when in fact it is the weather that poses the biggest obstacle. Despite this, the amount of tents across the Quadrangle are increasing and the community support is unwavering.
Speaking to the Palestine Action Group weekly protests, Bhattarai noted that protest attendance has been solid, with a notable spike in numbers when escalations like the attacks on Rafah occur. The Quad lawns are expected to fill up tomorrow as protestors march from Belmore Park to the USyd encampment.
“For 217 days, we have been sitting behind our screens watching a genocide unfold,” began Palestinian activist Dalia Haj Qasem. Qasem noted how the victims are predominantly children, and spoke to the discovery of another mass grave and the commencement of Israel’s military operation in Rafah.
She then called out Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for denouncing protest slogans like “intifada,” but not “war crime after war crime after war crime after war crime.” Qasem concluded that to “make Israel the pariah state it should always have been,” financial and educational ties must be cut, citing Israeli universities who operate on stolen land and the arms manufacturers creating weapons that kill Palestinians.
Jane, a Baramadagal woman, gave the Acknowledgement to Country and then spoke to the refusal of Federal Attorney General Mark Dreyfus to give legal advice to universities about “intifada” and “from the river to the sea” slogans. Jane said she is “happy to give free advice” and just as First Nations people here say “from the mountains to the sea”, “from the river to the sea” is “not calling for the oppression of other people” but for the freedom to exist. She concluded by saying everyone has a “cultural, moral or civic obligation… even when words fail us.”
Deaglan Godwin, SRC Vice President and organiser with Students for Palestine spoke next. Godwin stated that the university is “not content with arming Israel… [and] seeks to normalise the apartheid regime” through exchange programs.
“Does OLE: Experience Israel give you the experience that Palestinians go through?” exclaimed Godwin.
He continued by saying that it is “a whitewashed image of what Israel is” and that protests will continue until universities cut ties with Israel, before reiterating the intention to grow the encampment further, inviting students, staff and the general public to join the Palestine solidarity movement.
Vieve from Students Against War spoke to the activity and responses to encampments across Australia. They referred to Western Sydney University management telling students through security that they can chalk messages as long as they don’t include the phrases “long live the intifada” and “from the river to the sea”.
Vieve also mentioned the sit-in by students protesting Tel Aviv University’s presence at the Sydney Abroad Fair. They said that the Tel Aviv University President sent a letter to Vice-Chancellor Mark Scott describing the sit-in as “atrocious” and threatened to cut academic ties with USyd.
Vieve also spoke to the 93% vote by the NTEU to cut academic institutional ties with ISrael, but denounced tactics like threats to ban chants and the intimidation of the Sydney University Muslim Students Association (SUMSA), who are participating in the encampment.
Greens Member for Newtown Jenny Leong and senator David Shoebridge were both present at the rally. Shoebridge spoke to his visit to the encampment of University of Tasmania, and his disappointment in his alma mater, USyd, standing by as a genocide was happening.
Shoebridge spoke to the “tiny step” closer to Palestinian statehood as 143 countries — including Australia — voted in support of a motion that provides Palestine “rights and privileges” in the United Nations.
“[Foreign Minister] Penny Wong in the last half an hour has come out and said this should not be misunderstood as Australia voting for Palestinian statehood. Then what the bloody hell was it?”, exclaimed Shoebridge.
He called out Australia’s direct and indirect contribution to weapons manufacturing, stating that the “US stopped the ‘dumb bomb’ but Australia put add-ons to make it a ‘smart bomb’”. Shoebridge reiterated the need to sever ties with weapons manufacturers like Thales and said “we don’t want Boeing [Defense, Space and Security division] to come here” either.
Qasem spoke again reaffirming that “the liberation of Palestine has never been contingent on the expulsion of Jews”, and it means “equal rights for all… no apartheid, no occupation, no settler-colonial violence”.
Sheikh Wissam Charkawi talked about the mass graves, declaring that “we have mass silence” when it comes to Palestine. Charkawi said that he joined the rallies to end violence and murder of women, noting that he joined “for all women, whoever they may be and wherever they are”.
Charkawi spoke to the “weasel words” of the Australian government, who are “taking the voices of the community for granted, not just people of Arab background”.
The final speaker was Assala Sayara, a Palestinian activist born in Bethlehem who proudly stated in Arabic, “we Palestinians teach life” even “in mourning… in the tents”. Speaking to a disillusionment with educational institutions who pride themselves on “decolonisation… [and] decolonial theory”, Sayara said that her teachers are “the students of Gaza… Dr Adnan, Bisan, Wael Dahdouh”.
Sayara spoke about her personal experience as a USyd student studying social work. She proposed to complete her placement in Palestine but was rejected on the basis of safety concerns and “that it isn’t an established profession in Palestine”.
Sayara rejected this, stating a “Western understanding does not dictate or define the line of professionalism” and that “Palestinians professionals have been working in incomparable situations” Sayara was able to practise in Palestine, and urged others to “bring Palestine into the conversation and… research” as the movement is reliant on the voices of millions around the world.
Afterwards, attendees marched to F23 building, where Mark Scott’s office resides and chanted outside. Chants throughout the rally included “1, 2, 3, 4 open up the prison doors, 5, 6, 7, 8 Israel is a racist state”, “we don’t want your two-state, we want all of ‘48” and “disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest”.
USyd security stood at the front of the march, while more security stood next to the police officers along the City Road footpath, so as to prevent protestors from moving onto the road. Attendees were later invited to a meal of Palestinian makloubeh.
What does the UN vote actually mean?
This translates to an ability for greater participation such as being seated in the UN General Assembly hall by alphabetical letter and not towards the back, putting concerns on the agenda, and having their staff on committees.
While many member states have indicated their desire to recognise Palestinian statehood, this vote is not a resolution. Instead, it is a motion deeming Palestine as qualified to join the UN and is calling upon the UN Security Council to reconsider Palestine’s application for full membership.
Only the Security Council can decide on bids for membership, and it is likely that this bid will be vetoed by the US, one of nine countries that voted against the motion.
Follow updates on our Instagram and Twitter, and visit Students for Palestine Sydney Uni for daily schedules.
