Leaders condemn the Council of the University of Melbourne Student Union
Jewish organisations have slammed the Council of the University of Melbourne Student Union for voting for a motion that was strongly anti-Israel and pro-BDS as reported on J-Wire on Friday.
University of Melbourne
Daniel Aghion, the president of The Jewish Community Council of Victoria said: “The United Nations long ago agreed that the equation of Zionism with racism, was itself antisemitic and should not be countenanced. It is a shame that students of a higher learning institution failed to educate themselves on the grotesque inaccuracies in the motion, and the structural racism inherent within it.
Aghion added: “We commend the bravery of AUJS and its members for battling against the motion, and their success in generating a significant vote against the motion. We support them wholeheartedly in their fight to rescind and denounce this vile slur on the Jewish homeland.”
The JCCV noted the importance of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. If the IHRA definition had been adopted by Melbourne University, it would have provided useful guidance as to why such a motion is antisemitic in its nature, and should not have even been put to the vote.
Zionist Federation of Australia President Jeremy Leibler said, “The student union has shamed itself with this motion. Zionism is Jewish self-determination and it is a central component of modern Jewish identity. This motion denies to Jews – and only to Jews – the right to self-determination. It is intrinsically antisemitic. The motion is also replete with easily disproven lies, and goes out of its way to avoid mentioning the decades of Palestinian violence and terrorism, which are the primary reasons Palestinians remain stateless.”
Jeremy Leibler continued, “It is difficult to imagine the impact that this antisemitic resolution will have on the wellbeing and safety of Jewish students on campus at Melbourne University. It seems that the student union has great regard for all minorities on campus other than the Jewish students I commend the Australian Union of Jewish Students for their advocacy in relation to this issue.”
Zionism Victoria stated that the resolution that “deems Zionism as a racist, colonial ideology”, refers to Israel’s “ethnic cleansing” of the Palestinians, calls for an “academic boycott of Israeli institutions”, urges the university to “cut ties with Israeli institutions, researchers and academics” and calls for divestment from corporations “complicit in … Israeli apartheid”.
The anti-Israel and anti-Zionist allegations in the motion are not only demonstrably false, they are also clearly antisemitic.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition (IHRA) of Antisemitism gives as an example of antisemitism, “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour”.
It also cites the example, “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination”.
Condemning what he termed “a monstrously antisemitic resolution, President of Zionism Victoria Yossi Goldfarb said, “It is ironic that the motion passed by the University of Melbourne Student Union states that it ‘condemns any and all forms of antisemitism,’ as the motion flies in the face of the examples of antisemitism cited by the most widely accepted and recognised definition of antisemitism within the international community.
Zionism Victoria was shocked to learn that the University of Melbourne Student Union (UMSU) voted this afternoon in favour of a resolution that “deems Zionism as a racist, colonial ideology”, refers to Israel’s “ethnic cleansing” of the Palestinians, calls for an “academic boycott of Israeli institutions”, urges the university to “cut ties with Israeli institutions, researchers and academics” and calls for divestment from corporations “complicit in … Israeli apartheid”.
The anti-Israel and anti-Zionist allegations in the motion are not only demonstrably false, they are also clearly antisemitic.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition (IHRA) of Antisemitism gives as an example of antisemitism, “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour”.
It also cites within the example, “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination”.
“The resolution further calls for ‘the self-determination of the Palestinian people’, while seeking to deny that self-same right to self-determination to the Jewish people, again contravening the IHRA definition of antisemitism.”
The IHRA definition is the most widely accepted definition of antisemitism within the international community, having been adopted and/or endorsed by at least 40 countries, including Australia, the US, the UK, France and Germany, countless international institutions and leaders, including the European Union and UN Secretary General, and numerous state/local governments, including the NSW Government, academic institutions and municipal authorities.
Just this week, the City of Glen Eira, home to the largest Jewish population in Australia, voted to adopt the IHRA definition. The Victorian Opposition has also adopted it, and the Victorian Government is currently considering its adoption.
Mr Goldfarb added, “Most critically, Zionism Victoria regrets the impact the passage of this motion will have on Jewish students at the University of Melbourne who, like all students, are entitled to regard their campus as a safe and secure environment, respectful of their culture, identity and beliefs.
“That being the case, we stand wholeheartedly in solidarity with the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS), who are one of our affiliates, and who always fight valiantly not just for the rights, interests and welfare of their members, but for all minorities on campus.
“Together with other mainstream communal organisations, Zionism Victoria will do everything in its power to support AUJS’ efforts to rectify this unconscionable, and frankly antisemitic, resolution.”
The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council’s executive director Dr Colin Rubenstein stated, “This deplorable motion uses language we would have expected to have come from Hamas or Hezbollah, as terrorist groups committed to the destruction of Israel, not from the student union of an esteemed centre of learning here in Australia.
“Those behind the motion have created a fictitious, one-sided narrative of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in which Palestinians are natives and any Jewish connection to the land is denied. Based upon that falsehood, as constructed, the motion is antithetical to all that institutions of higher learning are meant to stand for, and will do untold harm to the credibility of both UMSU and the University of Melbourne.
Moreover, in deeming Zionism as a ‘racist, colonial ideology’ and Israel as a ‘settler colonial apartheid state,’ and a ‘colonial project’, yet demanding self-determination for Palestinians, this motion has clear antisemitic overtones. It denies to Jews the right to self-determination in the Jewish homeland, where Jews have lived for thousands of years, yet demands that same right for others. The lip service in the motion to condemning antisemitism does nothing to change that reality. It is in fact ironic, given that antisemitism is inherent to the motion itself.
The motion’s narrative claims Israel ‘continuously denies the native Palestinians of their right to self-determination, freedom, dignity and equality,’ ignoring the numerous offers of statehood Israel has made to the Palestinian Authority that the PA has spurned, and that furthermore, all of Israel’s citizens, including Arabs, have equal, democratic rights.
It states Israel carried out a police raid at the Al Aqsa Mosque on Palestinians who were ‘simply congregating and praying’ – ignoring ample and widespread video evidence that demonstrates Palestinians were stockpiling rocks and fireworks in the mosque, and violently attacking Jewish worshippers nearby.”
The motion condemns Israel’s alleged ‘ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians’, even as the Palestinian population of the West Bank and Gaza has increased by more than four times since Israel gained control of those areas in 1967, and the Palestinian population of Jerusalem has increased both in absolute terms and as a percentage of the overall population.
The motion’s expressed support for the ‘right’ of the Palestinians to ‘engage in self-defence against their occupiers’ is clearly code for supporting terrorism against Israelis, mainly civilians.”
The motion demands a comprehensive boycott and divestment policy against Israeli institutions and academics in contravention of the spirit of free enquiry and academic freedom fundamental to universities as institutions, while the wider call to boycott the Jewish nation has disturbing historical parallels.”
In summary, this is a shameful motion that encourages extremism and terrorism and has antisemitic overtones despite its hypocritical denials and disclaimers. It should have no place at all in this country, let alone in an institution of higher learning.
The vast majority of Jewish students will no doubt feel deeply betrayed that the student union that is meant to represent them could pass a motion that is so appalling and so antithetical to their core values.
I can’t help wondering if all those who supported this motion fully appreciated its insidious meaning and intent. The Council should rescind the motion at the first available opportunity.
The University Administration must disassociate itself from this calumny in the strongest possible terms and do all it can to ensure that this never happens again, as it represents a toxic stain not only upon UMSU, but on the University itself,” Dr Rubenstein conclude
The Australian Jewish Association’s Public Affairs Director Robert Gregory said: “This disgraceful motion calling for a boycott of the world’s only Jewish State unquestionably meets the definition of antisemitism. The timing, just one day after Holocaust Remembrance Day is fitting.
This is the most antisemitic resolution we have ever seen passed in an Australian University.
At a time when Jewish students are being victimised on campus, University of Melbourne Students Union has joined the attackers.
For a small group of non-Jewish students to redefine the Jewish religion to suit their radical political goals is outrageous.
The resolution also appears to encourage terrorist attacks and has the potential to lead to violence and discrimination against Jewish students.
AJA calls on the University of Melbourne administration to speak out and take appropriate action. No taxpayer funds should be going to a group promoting intolerance and hatred. The University of Melbourne must not stay silent otherwise they will be tainted with this hatred.”
AJA calls on the University of Melbourne to send a strong signal that discrimination is not welcome on campus by adopting the internationally accepted IHRA working definition of antisemitism. The definition has received bi-partisan federal support.
