Jewish students jeered
Anti-Zionist Jewish professor Peter Slezak spoke in favour of the motions, referencing Palestinian activist and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah during his speech.
Jewish students speaking in front of a hostile crowd at a UNSW Student General Meeting were jeered, booed and told to “go back to Europe” as a number of pro-Palestine motions were passed last week.
Anti-Zionist Jewish professor Peter Slezak spoke in favour of the motions, referencing Palestinian activist and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah during his speech.
“She says – and I endorse this feeling – that Jews should feel uncomfortable, it’s our duty to make them uncomfortable, and I think that’s exactly how we should behave,” Slezak said to rousing applause.
In response, the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) vice-president Zac Morris said, “When you have people, and anti-Zionist Jews, coming up here saying Jews should be feeling uncomfortable, that’s something we wouldn’t really accept from other contexts.”
At one point a student yelled out, ‘Shut the f**k up, coloniser’, but Morris continued to speak despite almost being drowned out by boos.
“We are a diverse community here and that’s something we should be incredibly proud of, but instead of recognising that as ethnic minorities we need to be lifting each other up, the socialist alternative has been trying to negotiate deals to lock Jews out of the SRC (Student Representative Council),” said Morris.
“That’s what makes this exercise as sad as it is frustrating, because if we had sought to find common ground I guarantee you we could have found some. Because we can support Palestinian self-determination, we can condemn the horrors of war, and we can do so in a way that’s actually effective and doesn’t alienate a huge chunk of our students.”
But Morris’ plea fell on deaf ears when a member of the Students For Palestine movement grabbed the microphone and screeched, “I don’t think I can find common ground with people who support and justify a genocide”.
UNSW was asked by The AJN to comment on the event, with a university spokesperson saying, “UNSW Sydney stands categorically against all forms of antisemitism.
“The university takes disciplinary action against cases of antisemitism under our policies and our code of conduct. Our highest priority is the safety of our students and staff on our campuses.”
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