Palestine supporters at UTAS Sandy Bay campus ‘won’t leave until demands are met’
Students across the world have joined sit-ins protesting their universities involvement in the war in Israel. Find out what students want from UTAS >>
Tasmania
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Jewish University of Tasmania student Hannah Levit grew up with “Zionist lies” as her worldview.
The 24-year-old attended a Jewish school in the United States and said she was taught how to argue against every talking point from a pro-Palestine supporter.
“They argued that Israel is the victim, which is just absurd.
“We were taught the Nakba was this wonderful independence war that gave the Jewish people the state they deserved.
“They only casually mentioned the people expelled and many killed,” she said.
She said she has a strained relationship with the Jewish community due to Zionist views.
Zionism is a Jewish nationalist movement striving for an independent Jewish state.
“It is horrible to think about because he is such a good person and he raised me to have the values I have now.
“Israel is so good at propaganda they’re able to infiltrate so many aspects of society in such a way that people are sheltered from the truth,” she said.
Ms Levit is a marine biology masters student occupying the University of Tasmania campus in tents with around 25 protesters who say they are not leaving until their demands are met.
They have been camped at the University campus since May 6.
Sociology student Owen Gregory said the stand-alone group is part of a “worldwide voice” asking for the university to disclose funding and investment portfolios and to divest from military organisations, weapons manufacturing and anything with ties to the current situation in Israel.
“It’s really important as people who pay money and enter into debt based contracts with these institutions that we have a say in where that money goes,” Mr Gregory said.
He said threats to mainland protests of police involvement were “heartbreaking”.
Mr Gregory said the scenarios coming out of the United States- with officers in riot gear clearing out camps- often felt “a world away”.
“It is considerably concerning that our government would let such suppression happen,” he said.
University of Tasmania senior lecturer Adel Yousif is a second generation Palestinian refugee. He was born in Baghdad and came to Australia in 1993.
He said the student protesters were “incredible for advocating for something our government will not advocate for”.
“Our government gives political licence to Israel for mass murder,” Dr Yousif said.
He compared the colonisation of Palestine to the colonisation of Tasmania — with a powerful military against rudimentary weaponry.
“There is no colonisation project in the whole world without a legitimate resistance movement,” he said.
Dr Yousif said it was ironic that Australia denounces colonisation and believes Indigenous people should be respected while supporting a “colonial, apartheid, racist, violent state”.
“This is not just about Palestine. This is about colonisation, racism and apartheid,” he said.
When asked if the university would try to clear the camp, University of Tasmania Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Anderson said “free speech does not have a time limit”.
“The University of Tasmania values and will protect freedom of speech for our students and
staff, and on our campuses.”
But the Australian Jewish Association has condemned the encampments at universities around the nation.
AJA CEO Robert Gregory said he supports the call from 13 members of parliament for a genuine inquiry into antisemitism on Australian university campuses.
Mr Gregory said the Labor government’s ‘sham study’ of racism in our universities should be replaced by an independent judicial inquiry into antisemitism.
“Anti-Jewish racism is un-Australian. Labor must not sweep this problem under the rug,” he said.
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