The NTEU’s and Students for Palestine’s “USyd Cut Ties with Genocide” rally took place in front of the encampment, with various speeches remarking on the solidarity between staff and students in demanding that the University cut ties with Israel.
The morale seemed remarkably high — with this rally exactly a month since the first day of the USyd Gaza solidarity encampment attracting a large turnout, amidst a backdrop of hundreds of tents pitched, and a bake sale on the quad lawns with proceeds going to Gaza.
This rally also marked an opportunity to address how student encampments have resulted in demands being met at the University of Melbourne — with management agreeing to follow through on protester’s demands in disclosing their ties to weapons manufacturers.
The rally was led by Jasmine and Rand, who first introduced Dr. David Brophy, Vice-President of the USyd NTEU branch, to speak first.
He spoke to the NTEU’s “unwavering support” for indigenous rights — following this with the recent motion for the NTEU branch at the members meeting, endorsing the full and complete boycott of all Israeli universities , the first instance at any Australian university.
Dr. Brophy spoke to the scholasticide in Palestine — and the “complete destruction of higher education in Gaza, the mass murder of academics and professional staff” reaffirming that thisis “union business”
“The administration may be unmoved. But history isn’t standing still,” he said.
“When we met with Mark and Annamarie … and reiterated our support to this camp, “it fell unfortunately on deaf ears…”
“They gave no indication of any interest in cutting ties with an apartheid state, no commitment to divest from war and destruction.”
Brophy concluded by saying that he believes a free Palestine will happen “within our lifetimes”..
Organisers Jasmine and Rand then announced the next speaker, Greens MP for Newtown Jenny Leong.
Jenny Leong spoke to the student movement solidifying itself within the “right side of history.”
“I stand here as a graduate of this university,” she said. “Just last week I communicated to Mark Scott as capacity as alumni and state member of parliament … urged him to join with the students and staff demands on this campus and disclose and divest the university’s interest when it comes to supporting a genocidal regime in Israel.”
She extended her support to students exercising their rights to conduct peaceful protests and freedom of assembly.
Leong condemned the movement by management imposing academic sanctions against student activists supporting Palestine. She called it “outrageous” that the university was shutting down “long-held student tradition” and that there must be aretraction for threatening such sanctions.
Leong also criticised government inaction, “the moral bankruptcy of the Australian government when it comes to this issue”, stating that they have “blood on their hands.”
Encampment member Rand said “we need to imagine and realise not just a systemic change, but a total breaking of the system itself, which will never again allow anybody ever again to be genocided — Palestinian or otherwise.”
“Justice on the terms of the colonised, not the coloniser.”
A Palestinian student spoke next — telling the crowd how she has felt the need to hide her Palestinian identity in the past. She addressed the rally to be proud to see this support for Palestine — and encouraged rally participants to reflect on why they are here — to cut ties with Israel.
Associate Professor of Philosophy at UNSW, Peter Slezak, was then invited to speak.
“The university management have shown such moral depravity in their silence, but worse, of course, in their actual investment in the crimes of the Israeli regime,” he said.
“[The world realised that] the responsibility for ending a genocide rested on the conscience and the decency of a bunch of university students.”
Chants continued while protesters marched down Eastern Avenue to F23.
