‘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.

USYD Jewish chaplain Rabbi Eli Feldman said students and staff were frightened and deeply distressed, with some avoiding campus because they no longer felt safe. “Moving these posters to approved noticeboards does not change their message or remove their impact,” Feldman said. “Jewish students and staff should not have to walk past a call to spread violence against Jews simply to attend class.”

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president Greg Joffe said the material should be removed from the campus. “‘Globalise the Intifada’ is not criticism of Israel or its government. It is a call to extend violence against Jews and other civilians, here in Australia and around the world,” Joffe said.

ECAJ president Daniel Aghion said the intifadas were sustained campaigns of terrorism against civilians, and that calling for them to be globalised meant calling for that violence to be replicated outside Israel. “Students can advocate for Palestinian rights and criticise the Israeli Government without advocating, glorifying or calling for violence,” he said.

AUJS president Jeremy Suss said the university had acknowledged distress, heightened anxiety and feelings of unsafety, and must act on that acknowledgement.

Australian Academic Alliance Against Antisemitism chairperson David Knoll said the university’s own framework distinguished speech that merely offends from conduct that intimidates, harasses or threatens wellbeing, and that the material was causing documented psychosocial harm to staff. “The University has both the responsibility and the authority to act,” Knoll said.

The offices of Premier Chris Minns and NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane are understood to have contacted the university separately, News24 reported, and community representatives have raised the matter with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and federal Education Minister Jason Clare.

The AJN has contacted USYD’s media office for comment.