Students at the University of Sydney (USyd) voted to cut ties with Israel at a historic student general meeting (SGM) on August 7.
More than 700 students attended, packing out the Eastern Avenue Auditorium and filling three break-out rooms. Hundreds had queued up beforehand.
One student told听麻豆传媒听they decided to attend because 鈥渨hat鈥檚 happening in Gaza is a humanitarian issue and the fact that the university is turning a blind eye should not be ignored 鈥 it is obvious the university should cut ties with Israel.鈥
The Students Representative Council (SRC) called the SGM after the two month-long Palestine solidarity encampment forced management to agree to disclose ties with Israeli institutions and weapons鈥 companies.
Students were inspired by a听successful听and听well听attended听SGM听at听the听University听of听Queensland听on May 29, at which 1500 students voted to cut ties with weapons manufacturers and divest from Israel.
This was the fifth SGM at USyd. The first, in 1971, was in response to the tour of the all-white Apartheid South African Springbok rugby team.听
Students at the most recent one highlighted the links between the struggle to end Apartheid in South Africa and resisting Israel鈥檚 apartheid and freeing Palestine.
An SGM in 2007 condemned the John Howard government鈥檚 attacks on student unionism; one in 2021 endorsed the school strike for climate movement; and another that year opposed staff and course cuts.
The meeting was co-chaired by SRC president Harrison Brennan and Students for Palestine activist Jasmine Al-Rawi.
Al-Rawi said the SGM 鈥渞epresents the hope of what students can achieve when they fight together鈥 and pointed to the听huge听student听protest听movement听in Bangladesh, which forced the resignation of the prime minister, as inspiration.
Two motions were tabled: The first demanded the university 鈥渃ut ties with the genocide in Gaza鈥 and 鈥渃ut ties with Thales and all weapons companies conducting research at USyd鈥.
USyd SRC Education Officer Grace Street, who seconded the motion, told the SGM that the university鈥檚 Memorandum of Understanding with multinational weapons company Thales was the 鈥渂iggest elephant in the room鈥.
鈥淚t is Thales that creates the Watchkeeper 35 drones used to surveil and kill Palestinians in Gaza. It is Thales that creates the Bushmaster vehicles used in Syria, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan. And it is Thales that houses and manages the Armidale Class patrol boats used to transport asylum seekers to detention on Christmas Island.鈥
She pointed out USyd also has ties with Lockheed Martin, which produces the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Jets, being used by Israel to kill in Gaza.
The motion called on management to cut ties with Israeli institutions as part of the academic boycott, including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and Technion 鈥 Israel Institute of Technology.
This includes scrapping the 鈥淥LES2155: Experience Israel class鈥, which includes an exchange program with partner universities in Israel.
Street said these institutions have 鈥減layed a key role in planning, implementing and justifying Israel鈥檚 occupation and apartheid policy for decades鈥 and have close ties with the Israeli Defense Forces and Elbit Systems.
The motion called for disciplinary measures on students for taking part in Palestine solidarity action to be rescinded and for the new听Campus听Access听Policy听鈥 which restricts the right to protest and free speech on campus 鈥 to be dropped.
Palestinian student and BDS Youth Australia activist Rand Khatib said: 鈥淭his is a motion against white supremacy, against empire, against capitalism 鈥 this is a demand for land back, self-determination and sovereignty.
鈥淭here are no universities left in Gaza, no schools, no hospitals, no mosques, no churches 鈥 this is a genocide funded by our government and institutions.
鈥淏ut this genocide is preventable 鈥 we can prevent it with BDS and mass mobilisation.鈥
A group of five Zionists opposed the motion, characterising it in their speech against it as 鈥渁ntisemitic鈥.
Student activist Yasmine Johnson, who is Jewish, responded by saying 鈥渢he claim that opposing Israeli genocide and occupation is antisemitic is oldest lie in the book鈥.
Zionists students moved to amend the motion to 鈥渃ondemn Hamas鈥, but it was voted down.
The second motion, put by Students Against War, called for a singular, secular and democratic state in Palestine and affirmed Palestine鈥檚 right to resist.
The motion called for support for 鈥渁 single state where Palestinians, Jews, Muslims, and people of all faiths and backgrounds live in freedom and equality鈥.
It recognised that Palestinians, as an occupied people, have the right to armed resistance under international law.
The motion read: 鈥淎ll the violence in Palestine and Israel is a result of the Israeli state, its occupation of Palestine and the apartheid system inflicted on Palestinians.
鈥淭he violence of the oppressed is never equivalent to the violence of the oppressor.鈥
Both motions passed with an overwhelming majority, with about 5 students opposed to both.
Chants of 鈥淔ree, free Palestine鈥 echoed around the lecture hall and students then marched to Vice-Chancellor Mark Scott鈥檚 office to demand he fulfill the SGM鈥檚 demands.
Students have pledged to continue campaigning for institutional support to end the war on Palestine in Semester Two.
SGMs are also being planned at Australian National University, University of Adelaide, Monash University, Deakin University, RMIT,听Queensland听University of Technology and the University of Newcastle.
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