Pro-Palestinians to vet uni’s Israel ties
An agreement between the University of Sydney (USYD) and the Sydney University Muslim Students Association (SUMSA) to fully disclose USYD’s academic ties with Israel has been condemned as “appeasement”.
The bizarre deal reportedly elevates SUMSA and the USYD encampment to decision-making roles in the university’s policies on security and defence-related relationships with other institutions.
SUMSA shared its compact with USYD on Instagram last week in a post that included Stand4PalestineAus, whose ties to Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir were exposed on Nine’s 60 Minutes.
And pressure is mounting on Education Minister Jason Clare to hold an inquiry into when USYD became aware of Hizb ut-Tahrir infiltration of its campus, amid reports vice-chancellor Mark Scott’s chief of staff was alerted on May 6.
Hizb ut-Tahrir expressed jubilation after the October 7 slaughter of Israelis and called for Muslim nations to destroy Israel. Its Australian arm organised a post-October 7 ‘day of pride’ in Lakemba in Sydney’s west.
But prompted by The AJN, Clare did not respond directly on the deal. More generally, he stated, “There is no place for the poison of antisemitism or any sort of racism in our universities or anywhere else.
“That’s why I have asked the Race Discrimination Commissioner to examine the prevalence and impact of racism, including antisemitism, at universities and make recommendations to the government about how we can ensure a safe environment for students.”
Human-rights lawyer Stewart Levitt, a senior partner in Sydney legal firm Levitt Robinson, which is launching a class action against USYD on behalf of Jewish students next month, said the deal “only causes us to redouble our efforts”.
Levitt said the government needs to demand full disclosure of funding ties at tertiary institutions, which “make themselves continually attractive to foreign investors”. US and British universities “have received very substantial funding from Saudi and Islamist organisations and there’s always strings attached”.
Liberal MP Julian Leeser called Scott’s SUMSA deal “a terrible capitulation”.
Two academics in 5A, Associate Professor Andy Smidt of Southern Cross University and Dr Sarah Aamidor of USYD, stated, “The decision to capitulate to a mob of protesters with alleged links to a terrorist organisation is outrageous. It is dangerous and sets a precedent that those who shout loudest will win. Further, this deal was struck behind closed doors.”
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