{"id":203,"date":"2015-03-25T04:11:57","date_gmt":"2015-03-25T04:11:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sydneystaff4bds.org\/?p=203"},"modified":"2015-04-07T02:37:57","modified_gmt":"2015-04-07T02:37:57","slug":"sydney-staff-for-bds-statement-on-the-vice-chancellors-email-of-march-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sydneystaff4bds.org\/?p=203","title":{"rendered":"Sydney Staff for BDS statement on the Vice-Chancellor\u2019s email of March 19"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sydney Staff for BDS has made the following response to the Vice-Chancellor\u2019s email<\/a> of March 19, in which he singles out anti-Semitism as the trigger for the University\u2019s investigation into the student protest at the March 11 lecture by Colonel Richard Kemp and its sequel.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sign the open letter<\/a> to Michael Spence calling on him to resist Israel-lobby calls to punish Palestine-supporters at Sydney<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We note that Dr Spence\u2019s email follows public criticism of our members in the conservative media. Furthermore, we note that the accusations made against us have been comprehensively debunked, and we refer readers to the meticulous account of the March 11 event<\/a> published by Michael Brull in New Matilda<\/em>, and the video-evidence it contains.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is clear that the present charges of anti-Semitism form part of a vexatious and politically-motivated campaign against supporters of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions tactics for peace and justice in Israel-Palestine.<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We also note that while it is conducting an investigation to address baseless accusations of anti-Semitism, the university has not announced any enquiry into the very real, and documented, acts of anti-Arab racism and physical assault, which also took place at Kemp\u2019s lecture, and on account of which the police were called by us.<\/p>\n

4. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0To judge from the Vice-Chancellor\u2019s email, the terms in which the investigation has apparently been framed reinforce the very racial discrimination and prejudicial treatment to which the University says it is opposed. We further note that the perception of the discriminatory treatment of Muslims that will result risks seriously damaging the University\u2019s standing in the Muslim and the wider community, and weakening the effectiveness of the university\u2019s participation in anti-racism initiatives such as the \u201cRacism. It stops with me\u201d campaign.<\/p>\n

5. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The University should be a place of free enquiry, open political debate, and freedom of speech. University management should not therefore be in the business of conducting untransparent, ill-defined and inquisitorial investigations into the activities of its staff or students. As a result, we call on it to make public the specific terms of any investigation it is currently conducting into the events of March 11.<\/p>\n

6. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We also call on the University to treat its Jewish and Muslim staff and students transparently and equitably. We note that while Colonel Kemp\u2019s lecture was allowed to go ahead, the Muslim Students’ Association was prevented<\/a> last year from hosting Uthman Badar at a campus Q&A. SSBDS disagrees with Mr Badar\u2019s position on a number of questions, but we believe he has the right to appear on campus, as did Col. Kemp. If people do not like what he has to say, they are within their rights to protest disruptively at his campus appearance.<\/p>\n

7. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sydney Staff for BDS did not choose to disrupt Kemp\u2019s talk, but we support the protesters\u2019 right to do so. Disruptive protest is a central democratic prerogative; far from being inconsistent with free speech, it is an instantiation of it.<\/p>\n

8. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We note that while Kemp\u2019s appearance was publicized in Jewish community media, it was not advertised in any university forum. We conclude that, as a result, the talk had the character of a political meeting, and was not an activity that benefits from the protections that we would expect to hold at an academic occasion occurring in the context of teaching or research. This latter kind of activity we would expect to have been advertised in the wider university community.<\/p>\n

9. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We note that, by contrast, SSBDS advertises its own campus events openly and widely. We invite the Vice-Chancellor and any other interested members of staff, whatever their position on BDS, to attend our forum on April 14, \u201cWhy boycotting Israel isn\u2019t anti-Semitic<\/a>\u201d, which will include ample time for questions and discussion.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sydney Staff for BDS draws attention to the following accounts in the media about the events of March 11<\/strong><\/p>\n

The renewed witch hunt against Australian champion of Palestinian Rights<\/a>. David Brophy, The Electronic Intifada<\/em>, April 6 2015<\/p>\n

Put down the pitchforks, Sydney University!<\/a> Nick Riemer, New Matilda, <\/em>April 7 2015<\/p>\n

When the factual record matters: On Israel’s elections<\/a>. Michael Brull, New Matilda<\/em>, April 6 2015<\/p>\n

Talking point: Sydney Uni committed to free speech, letters<\/a> from Nick Riemer and Jake Lynch, The Australian<\/em>, April 4, 2015 (scroll down page)<\/p>\n

Pro-Palestinian protest investigated by Sydney University<\/a>, PM, ABC radio, April 2, 2015. (Link contains transcript and audio)<\/p>\n

Why Jake Lynch was waving money around at an anti-Israel Protest<\/a>, Nick Riemer, Crikey<\/em>, March 25, 2015<\/p>\n

Palestine supporter Jake Lynch assaulted at BDS action<\/a>, Jemma Nott, Green Left Weekly<\/em>, March 21, 2015<\/p>\n

Palestine Smear, letter<\/a> in Sydney Morning Herald<\/em> from Jake Lynch and Nick Riemer, March 19, 2015 (scroll down page)<\/p>\n

Peace Centre Farrago, letter<\/a> from Jake Lynch in The Australian<\/em>, March 19, 2015 (scroll down page)<\/p>\n

Disruptive Protest And Freedom Of Speech: A User’s Guide<\/a>, Nick Riemer, New Matilda,<\/em> March 19, 2015<\/p>\n

Witch hunt against Jake Lynch the latest attempt to silence pro-Palestine activists<\/a>, Alma Torlakovic, Red Flag<\/em>, March 18, 2015<\/p>\n

Blaming The Victims: What Really Happened At The Colonel Kemp USyd Protest<\/a>, Michael Brull, New Matilda,<\/em> March 18, 2015<\/p>\n

Unbalanced and distorted media coverage doesn\u2019t help sensitive matters of free speech and international conflict<\/a>, Paul Duffill, Online Opinion<\/em>, March 16, 2015<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sydney Staff for BDS has made the following response to the Vice-Chancellor\u2019s email of March 19, in which he singles out anti-Semitism as the trigger for the University\u2019s investigation into the student protest at the March 11 lecture by Colonel … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sydneystaff4bds.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sydneystaff4bds.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sydneystaff4bds.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sydneystaff4bds.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sydneystaff4bds.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=203"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/sydneystaff4bds.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1077,"href":"https:\/\/sydneystaff4bds.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions\/1077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sydneystaff4bds.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sydneystaff4bds.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sydneystaff4bds.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}