There Are No Universities Left In Gaza
The National Union of Students and BDS Youth have called for a nationally-coordinated week of action across all university campuses. Download our How-To Guide to get involved in our campaign on your campus.
Find local actions/events linked here. If there aren’t any confirmed, you can sign up to be part of our campaign (we will send you the film, promote your actions, send you materials) via emailing students[at]bdsaustralia.net.au
OVERVIEW
Our National Week of Action for Palestine is here to shed light on scholasticide – the systematic and total destruction and devastation of not just life, but knowledge and knowledge systems.
Palestinian students have not only lost an academic year, but their schools, universities, libraries, books, lecture halls, tutorial rooms, graduation ceremonies, teachers and classmates have been destroyed, and their teachers and classmates killed. And our institutions are complicit in this theft of life, joy and knowledge.
Our universities are complicit in two ways:
- They have financial ties through investments in both weapons companies and businesses complicit in settler-colonialism
- They engage in research and partnerships with Israeli institutions (like Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University of Jerusalem) as though they are normal institutions – but that is simply NOT the case
But there’s hope.
So what can we do?
When South Africa was deemed to be an apartheid regime, universities around the world BOYCOTTED and DIVESTED from South African institutions until the system of apartheid was dismantled. This is what we now demand of our institutions. This is why we heed the Palestinian call for Boycotts, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS).
Apartheid – wrong in South Africa, wrong in Palestine, wrong in Australia
- Universities should be apartheid-free zones!
- Scholasticide must end now.
- We must take action.
Together we can take collective action and implement Boycotts, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) to bring an end to this oppressive regime.
Across the continent, campuses will hold the following events in line with our National Week of Action for Palestine:
- Monday (21 Oct): Film Screening of DTS Palestine Under Siege
- Tuesday (22 Oct): Building for strike; banner paints, postering, leafleting, chalking
- Wednesday (23 Oct): STRIKE! Students walk out of class
- Thursday (24 Oct): Autonomous actions, like discussion panels
- Friday (25 Oct): Closing webinar on scholasticide, divestment & academic boycott
OUR DEMANDS FOR UNIVERSITIES:
- Divest from businesses profiting from settler-colonialism.
- Immediately implement an academic boycott against Israeli institutions, as was done against apartheid South Africa.
- Tear up contracts with weapons companies.
We refuse to be complicit. Will you?
So how do I get involved?
Once you have decided that you agree with our DEMANDS, you can join our National Week of Action by downloading and following our How-To guide! (to be linked once uploaded as PDF)
FAQ & TERMINOLOGY
TERMINOLOGY
Scholasticide refers to the deliberate and systematic attack against education systems including the obliteration of education through the arrest, detention or killing of teachers, students and staff, and the destruction of educational infrastructure. Israel’s belligerent genocidal attacks on Gaza’s education infrastructure has resulted in the complete disruption of schooling leaving a whole generation of Palestinians without access to any form of education for over 11 months. Over 650,000 Palestinian students in Gaza have lost access to their schools and universities. This is equivalent to having 10 universities in Sydney shut down for almost a year. Instead of attending graduations these students are forced to stand in a line for hours waiting for small quantities of water to bring back to their families. Instead of planning their careers and mapping out their semester studies, these students often spend their days planning their family members’ burials.
Settler colonialism is the violent elimination of Indigenous populations and eradication of indigenous heritage and culture by the settlers who want to claim indigenous lands.
This freedom refers to the right of all staff and students to freely hold political and intellectual views and values and to express them publicly and pursue knowledge without undue interference, fear of reprisal, restriction by university policies and general censorship.Universities and their sponsors have a duty to ensure that there is no Palestinian exception to these rights and freedoms of speech by staff and students.
FAQ
Strikes are an important way to express our collective power towards institutions, like Universities, and the Australian government. It shows them we are serious about our demands, and are not afraid to stop the regular workings of our institutions. This is how people all over the world have won their rights; through non-violent action. Palestinians in Gaza cannot go on strike so we must take action!
