About 50 students and staff at the University of Sydney (USyd) gathered outside Fisher Library on May 20 to protest university management’s repression of those showing solidarity with Palestine.
Two members of Students Against War received a disciplinary letter on May 5 because a poster calling on the university to end exchange programs with Israeli universities included the Handala symbol. Management said the symbol was antisemitic because some consider it “to be associated with violence against Israeli citizens or a symbol against Jewish self-determination”.
The symbol depicts a 10-year-old Palestinian child with his back turned. It was created by Palestinian artist Naji Al-Ali and is widely seen as a symbol of the Palestinian people’s struggle for freedom and self-determination.
USyd student, Wiradjuri, Ngiyampaa and Waiwan man and Students for Palestine activist Ethan Floyd addressed the protest.
He only recently returned from the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza where he was illegally kidnapped by Israeli Defense Forces in international waters. He spoke about management’s other attempts to silence Palestinian and First Nations voices on campus.
Investigative journalist Wendy Bacon spoke about the history and importance of boycotts. She criticised USyd’s recent appointment of a pro-Israel academic as its “special advisor” on antisemitism.
Luna Choo, USyd student and Pride in Protest activist described her experience of being threatened with expulsion and deportation for Palestine activism on campus.
Matte Rochford from the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) outlined how staff are resisting management’s attempts to silence their support for Palestine. Greens MP for Newtown Jenny Leong also spoke.
More than 700 students have signed a petition calling on management to drop the investigation and charges against students.
[Chiara Reeves is a student at the University of Sydney and member of Socialist Alliance.]