A photo of University of Sydney students turning their backs on a Jewish speaker who denounced Hamas has been slammed as a demonstration of ‘contempt’.
During the Student Representative Council’s general meeting on Wednesday, the group Students Against War called to reject a nationwide definition of antisemitism.
Adopted by Universities Australia, the definition has said criticism of Israel can be antisemitic ‘when it calls for the elimination of the State of Israel’.
‘Anti-Zionism is not antisemitism. That’s why there is no such thing as a two-state solution,’ a council member told the crowd of 200 students.
‘That’s why the obvious solution is a one-state solution. There’s no such thing as Jewish self determination in Israel.’
Postgraduate student Kovi Rose, who is the grandchild of Holocaust survivors, had attended the meeting to speak against the motion.
‘I pleaded with the room of nearly 200 students to vote based on well-reasoned and fact-based arguments,’ he said.
‘But this prompted nearly the entire audience to stand up and turn their backs on me.’
Nearly 200 students at the University of Sydney stood and turned away from a Jewish speaker who condemned Hamas and during a general meeting
‘As a believer in progressive ideas like protecting minorities and respecting indigenous peoples, I am devastated to see that these values apparently do not apply to Jews or Israelis.’
Public Affairs Coordinator at Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS), Jack Mars attended the meeting and called it ’emotionally draining’.
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission and Jewish studies academic, unleashed on the behaviour, calling the meeting a ‘show trial’.
‘They didn’t just turn their backs on Jewish students. They turned their backs on decency. On democracy,’ he told Daily Mail Australia on Saturday.
‘It was a purge. A room full of students – 200 strong – stood up, not in solidarity with the oppressed, but in open contempt of their Jewish peers.
‘This was a show trial. The verdict was pre-written: Jewish students guilty of existing, guilty of speaking, guilty of refusing to renounce their identity.’
He said that every parent in Australia should ask: ‘Is this what we are funding? Is this what higher education now means, turning children into ideological enforcers?’
A joint statement was released by peak, representative, national and state bodies of the Australian Jewish community condemning the ‘openly antisemitic conduct’.
The meeting was called by the group Students Against War to oppose a nationwide definition of antisemitism applied by universities, including the University of Sydney
The University of Sydney said the council is an independent body but members of both sides of the debate were consulted prior to the general meeting.
‘We are aware nearly 200 students attended the meeting, which represents a small fraction of our total student body,’ a statement said.
‘Ahead of the Student Representative Council’s Student General Meeting we liaised with key members of relevant student groups.
‘(We) reminded them of their obligations to manage their meetings in a way that is respectful of the opinion of others and that all students must conduct themselves in accordance with the University’s policies and the law.’
SRC president Angus Fisher said the council prioritised the safety and wellbeing of all students by enabling a fair and balanced debate, ‘which is what occurred’.
‘The room was adequately controlled and there was no heckling of speakers, shouting, nor any threats,’ he said in a statement to Daily Mail Australia.
‘The SRC has always rejected all forms of racism including antisemitism and Islamophobia.’
Students Against War also shared a statement with this publication, when asked about members turning their back to the speaker.
The University of Sydney (pictured) said that the meeting was run by an independent student body but groups had been warned about the code of conduct before it took place
‘The student general meeting was open to all undergraduate students,’ they said.
‘Opponents of the motions were given equal time to present their views, but their arguments were overwhelmingly rejected by the assembly.’
During the fiery debate, the students voted to support the demand for a single, democratic, secular Palestinian state and to cut all ties with Israel.
According to the university’s commitment to anti-racism, ‘criticism of the policies and practices of the Israeli government or state is not in and of itself antisemitic’.
But it is antisemitic to criticise Israel when it is grounded in harmful tropes, stereotypes or assumptions, when calling for the elimination of the State of Israel, or when holding Jewish communities responsible for Israel’s actions.
A member of Students Against War told the meeting that the speakers against the motions believed the group wasn’t interested in criticising Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or the government.
‘We are. But we’re also interested in ending apartheid and genocide,’ he said.
‘And to be able to do that we need to be able to fight on our own terms. We need to vote against this definition.’
