From the Liveblog of
Friday, May 3, 2024
‘Stop hate mate’: Australian Jews protest antisemitism next to pro-Palestinian encampment at top university
Hundreds of people are protesting the Gaza war at the University of Sydney, demanding it divest from companies with ties to Israel, as a pro-Israel counterprotest nearby calls for an end to hate speech at demonstrations inspired by anti-Israel encampments sweeping US campuses.
Videos shared on social media shows a group of hooded men waving what appear to be Taliban flags inscribed with the Muslim ‘shahada’, or declaration of faith, chanting in Arabic as they march through one of Australia’s top universities.
The University of Sydney is unrecognisable. pic.twitter.com/y8VdARIJar
— Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) May 3, 2024
Several hundred meters away from the Sydney university protest and separated by lines of security guards, hundreds gather under Australian and Israeli flags under the banner “Stop Hate Mate,” to hear speakers talk about how anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protests have made Jewish students and staff feel unsafe on campus.
“There’s no space for anybody else, walking through campus chanting ‘Intifada’ and ‘from the river to the sea’ it does something, it’s scary,” says Sarah, an academic who declined to give her name for fear of repercussions.
The Australian Jewish Association posts on X, formerly Twitter, that Jews walking past the pro-Palestinian protest holding Australian and Israeli flags are attacked by an “antisemitic mob.”
Australian Israeli flags ripped from the hands of a Zionist counter protestor testing the limits of the Sydney university Palestinian encampment. https://t.co/0y1io7d2MC pic.twitter.com/Ffsy6aFZLJ
— Chriscoveries (@Chriscoveries) May 3, 2024
The pro-Israel protesters hold signs reading “Israelis are humans too” and “Intifada is a call to violence,” in a protest against anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiment seen at anti-Israel student protests on US campuses and around the world.
University of Sydney vice chancellor Mark Scott told local media yesterday that the pro-Palestinian encampment could stay on campus in part because there was not the violence seen in the US.
While several police cars are parked at the entrance to the university, no police are present at either protest.
Pro-Palestinian activists set up an encampment last week outside the sandstone main hall at University of Sydney, one of Australia’s largest tertiary institutions.
Similar camps have sprung up at universities in Melbourne, Canberra and other Australian cities.
Unlike in the US, where police have forcibly removed scores of defiant pro-Palestinian protesters at several colleges, protest sites in Australia have been peaceful with scant police presence.
