Published: 27 June 2024
Last updated: 28 June 2024
Jewish groups are “appalled and deeply concerned” that the University of Sydney has rewarded disruptive protests by allowing pro-Palestinian agitators to influence its investment policy.
The university has entered into an agreement with the Sydney University Muslim Students' Association, giving it a place on its working group to review the university’s investments.
It has also promised to disclose all defence and security-related research and to double its expenditure to support academics under its scholars-at-risk program.
The agreement gives the protesters a seat at the table in return for an end to the encampment protest over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which had disrupted the university for almost two months. The group refused to obey university administration orders to leave until the deal was signed on June 21.
It is the first time an Australian university has made such a deal with protesters.
"We have lost confidence in the capacity of the university to provide for the physical, cultural and psycho-social safety of Jewish students and staff members."
Statement from Jewish organisations
Six Jewish organisations have released a statement opposing the deal and rejecting a belated offer to participate in the process. They say the university has given power to protesters linked with the extremist Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir, providing an incentive for further and more extreme protests.
Comments2
Jonathan Keren-Black27 June at 07:36 am
On 24th April I went to UTS to attend a talk ostensibly about ‘Land Rights, Climate Justice, and Palestine with Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh.
The introduction and welcome to the guest was a barage of ‘genocide’ statements, and his talk continued similarly, with virtually no talk about the environment except a ridiculous statement that ‘before 1948 the Jordan was a wide fast running river, which the Israelis have subsequently reduced to a muddy trickle’! This event at publicly funded University of Technology, Sydney, was welcomed by the Head of the hosting Department and demonstrates that academic balance and rigour has left the building and switched off the lights. Evidently it has now left Sydney University as well.
Ian Radnell27 June at 07:11 am
So now we have the nonsense of a religious group having a watching brief on the investment portfolio of a publicly funded University!