Jewish students feel the heat
THE Monash University Student Association (MSA) has come under fire after it passed an anti-Israel motion condemning “policies of ethnic cleansing and racial discrimination” last month, with Jewish students claiming they’ve been alienated by the move.
THE Monash University Student Association (MSA) has come under fire after it passed an anti-Israel motion condemning “policies of ethnic cleansing and racial discrimination” last month, with Jewish students claiming they’ve been alienated by the move.
The July meeting condemned the “Israeli state’s bombardment” of Gaza, and encouraged students to “rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people”, marking a departure from its previously neutral stance on Israeli/Palestinian politics.
The Australasian Union of Jewish Students’ (AUJS) political affairs director Matthew Lesh said, “This motion does nothing to understand or solve the complex social, political and military situation of an ongoing conflict.”
The Monash Jewish Students’ Society’s (MJSS) Bryan Ladowsky expressed concerns that the motion “disconnects” Jewish students from both the MSA and the student body.
He said, “Following anti-Semitic attacks against Jewish students in recent years, this motion will only make Jewish students feel more uncomfortable and unsafe on campus.”
Chairman of the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC) Dr Dvir Abramovich said, “The motion undermines the credibility of a council that purports to be fair and objective and represent all students, and singles out the Jewish State for opprobrium and censure.”
University of Melbourne Student Union (UMSU) is set to have a meeting next week where it is expected to pass a similar motion condemning Israel.
AUJS and the ADC have warned that there has been an increase of anti-Semitic rhetoric at the Clayton campus, with a particular incident involving five Jewish students who were allegedly refused entry into a Socialist Alternative discussion on the conflict.
According to the ADC, the students were barred from the meeting because “only progressive-thinking people” were permitted.
ADC and AUJS said that at RMIT two Jewish students, one wearing a kippah, approached the Socialist Alternative stall and were subsequently called “dirty f**king Zionist pigs” and “disgusting people for supporting genocide” after engaging in a conversation about the conflict.
Lesh and Abramovich issued a statement encouraging students to be “vigilant” and to “stand up and denounce the growing anti-Semitism on Australian campuses”.
Neither the MSA nor UMSU responded to requests for comment by the time The AJN went to press.
ZOE KRON
AUJS’ latest campaign poster shows rockets being fired at Monash University and asks: “What would you do?”
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