Boycott resolutions a non-starter
The students did not attract the minimum 500 members needed for the resolutions to be proposed.
Three anti-Israel resolutions that were to have been put to a meeting of the Monash University’s students’ council this afternoon (Tuesday) did not proceed after the union failed to achieve a quorum of members.
At a planned meeting of Clayton campus members of the Monash Students Association (MSA), the Monash Student Council (MSC) proposed to pass resolutions in the MSA’s name that called for “stopping the bombing, a permanent withdrawal of Israeli troops, an end to the 18-year-long blockade, and reparations to be paid for the reconstruction of Gaza.
“MSA calls upon Monash University to reveal and cut all ties with companies and institutions involved in the development and manufacturing of weapons used by the IDF against the Palestinian people. MSA will make representations on behalf of students by bringing resolutions 1 and 2 to the attention of the Vice-Chancellor and the General Manager of Monash University.”
However, the students did not attract the minimum 500 members needed for the resolutions to be proposed.
At the time the students’ meeting was to have passed the resolutions, Monash University Jewish Students (MonJSS) held a vigil for the hostages imprisoned in Gaza and memorialised the six hostages the IDF found murdered by Hamas on Saturday.
In an earlier statement, MonJSS condemned the student council’s “blatant disregard for the atrocities committed by Hamas and its allies – particularly, the MSC’s exclusion of any reference to freeing the 101 remaining Israeli hostages who have, as of today, been held in captivity under the most inhumane conditions for 331 days”.
MonJSS said the MSA “effectively condones the actions of a prescribed “terrorist organisation”.
“MonJSS is extremely saddened and disappointed that at no point during this process did the MSA seek contact with us or offer to engage in reasonable debate on the subject. This is despite previous assurances that the MSA would always consider and seek out Jewish perspectives on matters concerning us.
“It speaks volumes about the MSA’s distorted priorities that they fail to grasp that this motion will have no impact on either the university’s actions or the outcome of the war. Rather, it will alienate the Jewish student population further and reinforce the sentiment that we are not welcome on campus.”
Australasian Union of Jewish Students president Noah Loven told The AJN the Jewish student vigil “symbolised the strength of the Jewish community and the hope and light that Jewish students bring on campus”.
MonJSS president Gila Bloch said the Jewish vigil raised $2000 for Kibbutz Manara in the Upper Galilee, where many homes were damaged by rocket and missile attacks from Lebanon.
“While one student group neglected the plight of the hostages, who have been in captivity for almost a year, bringing darkness and fear onto campus, the Jewish students brought light through the hostages and their struggle, yearning for peace,” said Loven.
With MSA elections imminent, The AJN understands there is a strong chance that similar motions will not be proposed again.
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