Shocking photo from Aussie university goes global: 'Lunatics'
A contentious campus meeting has drawn international criticism as Sydney students hit back at what they say is the 'utter hypocrisy' of administrators.
A controversial meeting at Sydney University in which students voted down a motion to condemn terrorist group Hamas and its October 7 attacks and to support the group's "armed resistance" in pursuit of a single Palestinian state has gained international attention as the university continues to investigate reports about the gathering.
Weeks after pro-Palestinian protestors were forced off university campuses around the country (which also gained international attention), the students also called for a "mass, militant student movement on campus".
Student activist Freya Leach was one of the only people to speak in condemnation of Hamas at the event, and was jeered and booed loudly throughout her speech, telling Sky News the following day she was "in disbelief" at the scenes that unfolded on Wednesday night at the Student Representative Council's general meeting.
"It's genuinely shocking," she said.
Sydney University has since put out a statement saying it "unequivocally condemns violence, terrorism, and any violations of human rights" and highlighted that "less than one percent of our student population attended the SRC meeting".
Administrators stressed the student body was independent from the university and said the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Education had written to organisers to remind them of their obligations to abide by the institution's code of conduct.
"The University is investigating reports of inappropriate conduct at the meeting, and has sought police advice on the legality of certain material used to promote the event," the statement said.
A photo of the student vote, and the details behind it, was shared by Australian activist and provocateur Drew Pavlou who referred to the students as "lunatics". The image was shared on Friday by famed Wall Street investor, and Jewish man, Steve Eisman who was played by Steve Carell in the Hollywood blockbuster The Big Short.
"The Left has taken Foucault and Derrida and from that foundation has crafted anti-colonialism, queer theory, critical race theory, and new social justice theories," he posted on Friday. "What just happened at the University of Sydney is a net result of these long standing intellectual trends. Only people warped by these ideologies could support a bunch of murderers and simultaneously condemn their Jewish victims."
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Intellectual things matter. Something that appears in an obscure intellectual magazine has the potential to dominate the culture only a few years later.
The Left has taken Foucault and Derrida and from that foundation has crafted… https://t.co/5iH14VEBps— Steven Eisman (@EismanSteven) August 8, 2024
A statement from the Student's Representative Council posted to Facebook on Friday again called on the university to end research programs with ties to weapons companies and celebrated the meeting for the "historic show of opposition by the student body to the complicity of our university in the genocide that is occurring in Gaza".
Families in southern Gaza flee new Israeli assault
Israeli tanks have returned to the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, forcing thousands to flee along congested roadways, as Palestinian fighters continued to attack Israeli troops from the ruins, residents and the military say.
Families fled eastern Khan Younis in vehicles and on foot on Friday (local time), belongings heaped on donkey carts and motorcycle rickshaws as they made their slow escape along congested roads, Reuters reported.
With Israel and Lebanon braced for a possible escalation in fighting, leaders from the United States, Egypt, and Qatar attempted a last-ditch effort to revive efforts to halt the fighting in Gaza, scheduling a new round of talks for August 15.
In recent weeks, Israeli forces that swept into nearly the entire Gaza Strip during more than 10 months of war have returned to the ruins of areas where they previously claimed to have driven Hamas fighters out.
In the latest assault, the military dropped leaflets ordering residents and displaced people sheltering in eastern Khan Younis, Gaza's main southern city, to leave an area that has already seen repeated waves of fighting.
The Israeli military said troops hit dozens of targets belonging to Hamas militants in Khan Younis and Rafah close to the Egyptian border, seizing arms depots, destroying infrastructure and killing dozens of fighters equipped with weapons including rocket propelled grenades.
There was no immediate detail on what was expected from the meeting called for August 15 to discuss a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Previous talks have failed to yield a ceasefire since a single week-long truce last November.
with Reuters
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
