Uni of NSW students demand it cut ties with weapons companies, help free Palestine

October 4, 2024
Issue 
Students vote at a special meeting to demand UNSW cut ties with weapons companies. Photo: Kaat DeMaere

Students at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) passed three pro-Palestine and anti-war motions at a historic Student General Meeting on September 26.

The motions were for UNSW to 鈥渄isclose and divest from the $2.973 million in financial investments in weapons companies鈥, 鈥渃ut its research partnerships with weapons companies鈥 and that students 鈥渟tand for a free Palestine鈥.

More than 500 students attended the meeting, which had to move from a lecture theatre to an outdoor lawn.

It came after similar pro-Palestine motions were passed at universities, including the University of Sydney, University of Queensland, Deakin University, Australian National University, Queensland University of Technology and Monash University.

Speakers for the motions said UNSW鈥檚 partnerships and investments in weapons鈥 companies involved in Israel鈥檚 genocide in Gaza made it complicit in genocide.

Cherish Kuehlamann,聽UNSW Student Representative Council Education Officer and Students for Palestine (SFP) member,聽SFP member Gina Elias, anti-Zionist Jewish student Milo Riggs, Associate Professor Peter Slezak, Palestinian activist and lawyer Amal Naser were among those who spoke.

A small group of pro-Zionist students attended and spoke against the motions.

The motions passed 501 to 17.

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