BRICUP Newsletter 67 | 6 août 2013 | The Israeli lobbying group Shurat HaDin has filed a class action complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission against University of Sydney….
BRICUP Newsletter 67 | 6 août 2013 |
The Israeli lobbying group Shurat HaDin has filed a class action complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission against University of Sydney academics Jake Lynch and Stuart Rees.
Last year, it is alleged, Professor Lynch, Director of the University of Sydney’s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, refused to assist Dan Avnon to work at the University as a representative of an Israeli institution. Shurat HaDin, alleges that his
support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement contravenes the Australian racial discrimination act. Shurat HaDin alleges that the BDS movement is racially discriminatory and undermines human rights: its director is reported to
have said: “Lynch and his ilk seek to boycott Israeli and Jewish national products, whether it’s goods, services, performers or professors. By singling out Israel and no other country, the BDS … exposes the anti-Semitism that motivates them.”
The Shurat HaDin lawyer who lodged the claim, Andrew Hamilton, said that the BDS campaign sought to “discriminate and impose adverse preference based on Israeli national origin and Jewish racial and ethnic origin of people and organisations”. Mr Hamilton said, “It’s about time someone exposed the racist false narrative that is at
the heart of the BDS movement in a legal forum.” (But they have… and it wasn’t! Mr Hamilton would do well to read BRICUP Newsletter 63, April
2013, and the subsequent pamphlet, Abusing the Law: Fraser vs UCU.
The Sydney University student union has backed BDS. A university spokesman said: “The University has not received a complaint from the Human Rights Commission. It would be inappropriate to speculate about hypothetical actions which might be taken in response to such a hypothetical investigation.”
In the meantime our support is needed. Please sign the petition of support.
Source: Some material from Christian Kerr
reporting in The Australian on August 2nd 2013