Uni Melb for Palestine spokeswoman says students are ending their occupation
Protesters have announced an end to their week-long occupation after the university agreed to one key demand.
Victoria
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Pro-Palestine protesters occupying a major Arts building at the University of Melbourne have finally ended their encampment after a week-long sit-in.
In a press conference outside the Arts West building on Wednesday night, a Unimelb for Palestine spokeswoman said students were ending the occupation amid the university agreeing to disclose all research partnerships with weapons manufacturers.
The students will also pack up their outdoor encampment on the university’s South Lawn.
It comes after the students on Tuesday night vowed they “will not be moved”, with protesters holding a movie night.
This was despite the university’s threat of imminent police intervention.
A Unimelb For Palestine spokeswoman said students demanded disclosure within one month and that an independent body of its choice oversees the process.
“Disclosure will not be determined by the university alone,” the spokeswoman said.
“We urge Melbourne University’s chancellor Jane Hansen to intervene and ensure that the university does not penalise any participant in the encampment.
“In the meantime, we urge everyone to sign the petition to support the students that may be subject to disciplinary action by the university.”
In a statement on Wednesday night, the University of Melbourne said: “We welcome the willingness of the occupiers to leave the Arts West building and remove the encampment from our Parkville campus.”
But Senior Liberal MP David Southwick said: “It is completely outrageous that extremists can hold a University to ransom and have them cave in.”
“This sets a dangerous precedent for the future, and tells radical protesters across the country that intimidation can work,” Mr Southwick said.
On Wednesday, Western Australian Senator Fatima Payman met with pro-Palestine protesters at the University of Melbourne to show her support.
The Labor Senator spent most of her time behind closed doors in the Arts West Building, before briefly meeting students at the Gaza Solidarity encampment.
Senator Payman last week came under fire after she said the controversial pro-Palestine chant “from the river to the sea” while addressing media, despite Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemning the phrase.
‘These protesters are literally calling for my genocide’
Noa, 19, who is studying psychology at the University of Melbourne, said Jewish students experiencing anti-Semitism at the Parkville campus was “confronting”.
“I have seen pro-Palestine protesters yelling ‘from the river to the sea’ and ‘intifada’ and there is a lot of physical intimidation by them,” she said.
“A Jewish student undertaking the Tefillin prayer near the Arts West building was ambushed by a group of protesters last week, he was clearly targeted.
“Police must step-in as these protesters have gone beyond what constitutes a peaceful protest. They are intimidating and aggressive, we deserve to feel safe.”
A first year student undertaking a Master of Business Administration said the university’s response to anti-Semitism had been “woeful”.
“I’m very disappointed that the safety of pro-Palestine protesters are being put before the wellbeing of Jewish students,” she said.
“My course is costing me $70,000 and I need to step over tents to get to class and these protesters are literally calling for my genocide.
“We deserve to feel safe and included at the university.”
Rabbi Bochi Broh, who is an honorary chaplain at the university, said Jewish students had experienced feeling unsafe on campus.
“Students should be able to feel safe on campus and I understand the university is working hard to do this,” Rabbi Broh said.
Intifada banner unfurled
Pro-Palestine protesters blocked the entrance to a room of another building at the University of Melbourne and unveiled a banner calling for “intifada” in an overnight action.
Images posted to Instagram by pro-Palestine group Disrupt Wars on Wednesday showed furniture stacked in front of the door of a room inside the Old Arts building at the university’s main Parkville campus, with signage saying “building out of order”.
The activists also renamed the building “Al-Araj Tower” and threatened to continue “liberating spaces”.
Disrupt Wars said on Instagram: “We, an autonomous group of this university’s community, are not intimated. Your threats will not stop us. Our demands will be met”.
The University of Melbourne confirmed a second building had been targeted by protesters but the disruption was minimal and short-lived.
“We can confirm that there was a minor incident overnight where people entered the Old Arts building,” a spokeswoman told the Herald Sun.
“They have since left and the building is fully operational.”
The main entrance to the Old Arts Building was manned by security guards on Wednesday morning.
Another six security guards were monitoring the sit-in at the nearby Arts West building
which appeared to remain closed to students not participating in the protest.
But their patience was tested when a when pro-Palestine supporter tried to bring a baby into the occupied building.
A group of four protesters wearing keffiyehs were stopped by security staff when they tried to enter the sit-in, with one carrying a baby girl.
Security blocked her entering as they were heckled by several other protesters.
Intifada is an Arabic word whose use at university campuses across Australia has generated controversy.
Pro-Palestine activists argue it means “shaking off” and calls for a legitimate civil uprising.
Pro-Israel groups say the word is linked to violent acts of terror against Jews and makes Jewish students feel unsafe on campuses.
The latest action comes as an occupation of the Arts West building by pro-Palestine protesters enters its second week.
Protesters have vowed they “will not be moved” with protesters holding a movie night on Tuesday.
Melbourne University has said more than 16,800 students have had their classes disrupted by the takeover while the Herald Sun has spoken to numerous Jewish students who say they are leaving the university due to heightened anti-Semitism at the Parkville campus.
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said he didn’t want Melbourne University students being blocked from getting into their classrooms.
Mr Clare urged protesters at risk of being suspended or expelled if they refuse to leave university buildings “to think again”.
“Melbourne University has made it clear to students that are in that building that unless they leave the building, they risk either being suspended from the university or be expelled altogether,” he said on Wednesday.
“If you’re a student that has gone to all the effort to get to university and get into the course you really want to do to then … end up forfeiting that opportunity, you’d want to think again.
“I want more kids to get a crack at going to university. I don’t want them being blocked from getting into their classroom.”
Mr Clare reiterated that he had told university vice chancellors that the safety of students and staff had to be their top priority, adding they must implement their codes of conduct.
“There’s a place for protest but there’s no place for hate or intimidation or anti-Semitism in this country,” he said.
“We’ve seen in the lifetime of our grandparents the evil that anti-Semitism can wreak and Jewish students have made it clear to me that they’ve been made to feel unwelcome at university and that’s not on.”
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