‘No-go areas for Jewish students’: Pro-Palestinian university camps grow

The number of pro-Palestinian campsites at the nation’s universities has grown to four, as Jewish groups claim they are turning campuses into no-go areas for Jewish students and academics.

By Monday, protesters had established a campsite on the lawns of the Australian National University and another camp at Curtin University in Perth was expected to be set up on Tuesday.

University of Sydney bachelor of science student Yasmine Johnson is the Students for Palestine organiser. He has set up camp on the university grounds.Credit: Louie Douvis

It has been almost a week since the encampment at the University of Sydney popped up, mirroring pro-Palestinian protest camps across the United States which began at Columbia University in New York on April 17. Similar encampments have also been established at the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland.

The University of Sydney is carefully monitoring the campsite and has so far not moved to remove it, as was done at Columbia University when administration called the police to move protesters on. 

Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion called for the camps to be dismantled and for politicians to follow in the footsteps of US President Joe Biden and call out antisemitism.

“We call on the federal education minister, state education ministers and vice chancellors to take immediate action to ensure the safety of all students and staff,” Aghion said in a statement.

The pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Sydney.Credit: Edwina Pickles

“A failure to do so risks permanently degrading the reputation of our world-class university sector and turning campuses into no-go areas for Jewish students and academics. The encampments must be dismantled.”

University of Sydney Gaza solidarity encampment organiser Yasmine Johnson said protesters had no plan to leave and that it would continue until the university cuts ties with “companies involved in the murder of over 34,000 Gazans in the last seven months”.

“Across America, students have stood up against the dismantling of their camps when colleges and the police have tried to silence them,” Johnson said. “Jewish students like myself have been part of this movement since day one, and we reject the baseless and discredited accusations of antisemitism by those who want to silence criticism of Israel’s genocide.”

Australasian Union of Jewish Students president Noah Loven said the Australian camps were inspired by those at Columbia University which were antisemitic and which had called for violence against Jews.

“Regarding the encampments across Australia, the chants, the terminology used at these rallies only incite violence and fear and apprehension among Jewish students,” he said.

Loven said calls by protesters at the University of Sydney for an intifada, a term associated with violent terrorist attacks against Jews, crossed a red line.

“As an organisation, we always want to uphold freedom of speech and expression, but universities have their own policies around the use of intimidation, and we want to make sure that these encampment students adhere to them,” he said.

On Monday, federal Education Minister Jason Clare publicly condemned an event held at the University of Sydney on Friday, which was billed as a “Kids excursion” where children were heard chanting “five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state”.

‘No place for hate’

Clare said: “There is no place for hate in our universities or anywhere else and it’s never OK to involve kids in things like this.”

NSW Tertiary Education Minister Steve Whan encouraged anyone who was concerned by something they have seen or heard to report it to police.

The University of Sydney has received seven complaints about the campsite, which is set to enter its second week on Tuesday. The university has increased security around the camp but access to the toilet facilities for those sleeping overnight is still limited to normal business hours. Meanwhile, an online fundraiser for the protesters for “camping basics and activist resources” has so far raised over $5000.

A University of Sydney spokesperson said it had a rich history of activism and protest on campus and an understanding that peaceful protests and freedom of expression can be important demonstrations of free speech.

“Any slogans, chants or actions that can be reasonably interpreted as implying support for violence, terrorism or infringing the rights of others or threatening the well-being of staff or students will not be tolerated,” the spokesperson said.

The Australian National University has boosted the number of security guards but said the protests were in line with its commitment to free speech.

“All students and staff at ANU are covered by the university’s policies of academic freedom and free speech and are free to express themselves on any issue in line with Australian law,” a spokesperson said.

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