‘Globalise the intifada’ ticket contests Sydney Uni elections

Jewish communal organisations have called on the University of Sydney (USYD) to remove all remaining “Globalise the Intifada” campaign material from its campus, after a student political group was permitted to contest Student Representative Council elections under that name.

According to News24, which broke the story on Tuesday afternoon, the elections are being held this week. In correspondence sent on Tuesday, the university acknowledged the phrase had appeared on election posters and corflute boards promoting a ticket that had adopted it as its name, News24 reported. The university said it had raised the matter with the SRC electoral officer and would write to the NSW Electoral Commissioner to seek further advice.

In a joint statement, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBD), Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) Australian Academic Alliance Against Antisemitism (5A) and Jewish chaplaincy group JUNI thanked the university for acting promptly to remove violent and extremist material from parts of the campus, but said the continued use of the term in campaign material and as the ticket’s name was unacceptable.

“Student election processes cannot override the University’s responsibility for what appears on its campus or the safety and wellbeing of its students and staff,” the statement said.

The organisations are seeking the immediate removal of all remaining material, a prohibition on the phrase and equivalent expressions in campus campaign material, an investigation into who authorised, produced and displayed it, and consideration of whether the ticket, candidates or organisers should be disqualified or sanctioned. They have requested an urgent meeting with university leadership.