The Australian Jewish Council has strongly denounced the characterization of solidarity camps set up in universities to support Palestinians in Gaza as a threat to Jewish students and staff or as anti-Semitic.
The statement was issued on Monday in response to protests organized by students at universities around the world opposing Israel's war on Gaza and supporting Palestinians.
Read more: The International Union of Muslim Scholars applauds the strength of student activism demanding an end to genocide in Gaza and calls for an end to the bloody war and defense of the Palestinian people (statement)
American institutions and members of Congress have accused students participating in protests at American universities against Israel's killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza of "anti-Semitism."
The statement noted that students have called on their institutions to end their relationships with arms companies that facilitate Israel's commission of war crimes. They also called on the Australian government to impose sanctions on Israel and sever military ties with it.
The statement strongly rejects allegations that these protests pose a threat to Jewish students and staff.
It pointed out that Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza in 200 days, warning of the danger of attempting to silence or control student protests and deceptively accusing them of anti-Semitism.
"We Should Be Proud of the Students"
Elizabeth Strakosch, Executive Director of the Australian Jewish Council, said in a statement: "We should be proud of all these students, many of whom are Jewish, who have spoken out publicly against this genocide." She added: "The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental right of freedom and democracy, and universities must support and protect it."
About 10 days ago, the student movement began at prestigious Columbia University in New York, and it expanded to several universities in the United States after US police arrested about 100 pro-Palestinian students who had started camping in university squares the day after a speech by their president in Congress, in which she defended herself against accusations of anti-Semitism at the institution.
Since then, hundreds of people, including students, professors, and activists, have been briefly detained, some have been arrested, and lawsuits have been filed against them at several universities across the country.
Images of riot police dispersing university campuses around the world have been circulated after university presidents summoned them, recalling similar events in the United States during the Vietnam War.
Source: Agencies