The University of Western Sydney’s Student Association (UWSSA) has decided to formally affiliate to the “Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel”. The call to boycott which was sent by “Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI)” was adopted in full. In Palestine, millions of people live under oppressive military regime. Among them, hundreds of thousands of university students has to endure ongoing humiliations in checkpoints and roadblocks on their way to campus. Earlier this year, Israel has even denied the right of some students from Gaza to study overseas. As long as the occupation and apartheid continues, we, students of the University of Western Sydney, stand in solidarity with the Palestinian students, and the Palestinian people as a whole, and we acknowledge the role of the academic institutions of Israel in the highly oppressive apartheid regime.
The University of Western Sydney’s Student Association will:
“¢ Refrain from participation in any form of academic and cultural cooperation, collaboration or joint projects with Israeli institutions;
“¢ Advocate a comprehensive boycott of Israeli institutions at the national and international levels, including suspension of all forms of funding and subsidies to these institutions;
“¢ Promote divestment and disinvestment from Israel by international academic institutions;
“¢ Work toward the condemnation of Israeli policies by pressing for resolutions to be adopted by academic, professional and cultural associations and organizations;
“¢ Support Palestinian academic and cultural institutions directly without requiring them to partner with Israeli counterparts as an explicit or implicit condition for such support.
The full campaign statement can be found on the PACBI website: http://www.pacbi.org/campaign_statement.htm For more details, please
contact:
Jacob Carswell-Doherty President 0423 159 472 jcarswell [at] optusnet.com.au
Guy Gillor International Student Officer 0448 605 203 guy.gillor [at] gmail.com
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ROYAL MELBOURNE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (RMIT) STUDENT UNION Motion 2
February, 2008
The RMIT Student Union strongly condemns the Israeli government’s recent war on the Palestinian people of the Gaza strip. The RMITSU mourns the death of over 1,300 Palestinians who have fallen victim to the violence of the Israeli Defence Forces, and expresses particular outrage at the use of the chemical white phosphorous on civilian populations.
The RMITSU calls for an immediate end to the continued bombing of the Gaza Strip, and an end to the 2-year blockade of Gaza ‘s borders to allow the passage of food, fuel and medical supplies.
The RMITSU offers its solidarity to those in Palestine suffering from the Israeli government’s alleged war crimes, and to all concerned students in Australia affected by the war.
The RMITSU expresses grave concern at the stance taken by the Australian Federal Government, and calls on the Prime Minister to immediately condemn the Israeli government’s atrocities in Gaza .
The RMITSU is particularly appalled at what appears to be the calculated bombing of the Islamic University in Gaza and numerous other educational institutions, many operated by the UN.
The RMITSU supports the call for an imposition of an academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions issued on December 29 by the Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees.
The RMIT Student Union calls on students and staff of RMIT University to engage in the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against Israeli academic institutions, recently called by the University Teachers’ Association- Palestine, whose headquarters were bombed by the Israeli military.
The RMITSU further asserts that any legitimate ceasefire must include provision for opening the borders into Gaza, a complete withdrawal of Israeli military forces, and a complete cessation of Israeli government military aggression.
The RMIT Student Union calls for the Israeli government to lift the blockade of Gaza ‘s borders and allow the passage of all food, fuel and medical supplies.
