Greens Senator Visits Palestine Encampment

As Olivia Goeldener writes, Senator for NSW and Deputy Leader of the Federal Greens Mehreen Faruqi visited the student encampment for Palestine at The University of Newcastle’s Callaghan campus last week.

As the encampment moves into its third week, students have refused to back down until their demands are met.

They include the immediate cut of the University’s ties to American-based weapons manufacturers Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

Senator Faruqi has been highly vocal about what students claim is Israel’s invasion of Gaza and continuing genocide of Palestinian people. She’s previously accused the Albanese Government of inaction on the Israel-Gaza war.

“We are not going to sit here and watch you pat yourselves on the back for doing nothing,” she said during Senate Question Time.

Also acting as the Greens’ spokesperson for Tertiary Education, Senator Faruqi told 2NURFM she is pleased to see students’ continual efforts.

“I am here to support the brave students who have set up the Gaza Solidarity Encampment and have the moral clarity and courage to call on their universities to end their complicity in genocide and to break ties with weapons corporations,” she said.

At the encampment, she hosted a ‘dynamic roundtable discussion’ with the participants and community members as a show of support.

It comes after the University of Melbourne and La Trobe University threatened students participating in encampments with police force and expulsion, after vacancy notices went ignored.

“What universities need to do is not try and dismantle these encampments but they should be listening … and actually, condemn Israel’s genocide and then end their partnerships with institutions which are complicit with genocide and with weapons corporations,” said Senator Faruqi.

In a response to the encampment, Vice Chancellor of the University of Newcastle Alex Zelinsky said it was made clear the University had no intention of shutting down the encampment, as long as it does not impact “university operations, including teaching and learning”.

Protests call on University to do more

A crowd of students this month heard speakers call for an “institutional academic boycott” of Israel, including “disclosing all ties” with the nation. Posters of children killed in the conflict were also laid out on the Shortland lawn.

So far no comments have been made by the University on its partnerships with Lockheed Martin Australia and Boeing Australia.