“Across America,students have stood up against the dismantling of their camps when colleges and the police have tried to silence them,” Johnson said. “Jewish students like myself have been part of this movement since day one,and we reject the baseless and discredited accusations of antisemitism by those who want to silence criticism of Israel’s genocide.”
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Australasian Union of Jewish Students president Noah Loven said the Australian camps were inspired by those at Columbia University which were antisemitic and which had called for violence against Jews.
“Regarding the encampments across Australia,the chants,the terminology used at these rallies only incite violence and fear and apprehension among Jewish students,” he said.
Loven said calls by protesters at the University of Sydney for an intifada,a term associated with violent terrorist attacks against Jews,crossed a red line.
“As an organisation,we always want to uphold freedom of speech and expression,but universities have their own policies around the use of intimidation,and we want to make sure that these encampment students adhere to them,” he said.
On Monday,federal Education Minister Jason Clare publicly condemned an event held at the University of Sydney on Friday,which was billed as a “Kids excursion” where children were heard chanting “five,six,seven,eight,Israel is a terrorist state”.
‘No place for hate’
Clare said:“There is no place for hate in our universities or anywhere else and it’s never OK to involve kids in things like this.”
NSW Tertiary Education Minister Steve Whan encouraged anyone who was concerned by something they have seen or heard to report it to police.
The University of Sydney has received seven complaints about the campsite,which is set to enter its second week on Tuesday. The university has increased security around the camp but access to the toilet facilities for those sleeping overnight is still limited to normal business hours. Meanwhile,an online fundraiser for the protesters for “camping basics and activist resources” has so far raised over $5000.
A University of Sydney spokesperson said it had a rich history of activism and protest on campus and an understanding that peaceful protests and freedom of expression can be important demonstrations of free speech.
“Any slogans,chants or actions that can be reasonably interpreted as implying support for violence,terrorism or infringing the rights of others or threatening the well-being of staff or students will not be tolerated,” the spokesperson said.
The Australian National University has boosted the number of security guards but said the protests were in line with its commitment to free speech.
“All students and staff at ANU are covered by the university’s policies of academic freedom and free speech and are free to express themselves on any issue in line with Australian law,” a spokesperson said.