Earlier this year, Students for Palestine UNSW obtained information through public access laws regarding UNSW’s ties to weapons companies supplying Israel’s military for its bombardment of Gaza. Despite the Israel government’s breaches against international humanitarian law, UNSW continues to maintain investment and research ties with weapons manufacturers involved in arming Israel’s military.
Students for Palestine UNSW are calling on all UNSW students to attend a Student General Meeting. The meeting will be held in Week 3 on September 25th, at 5:00pm in the Webster Building’s New South Global Theatre.
How is UNSW tied to weapon companies and genocide in the Israel-Gaza war?
Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman Corporation are among several weapons manufacturers actively supplying arms to the Israel military in its offensive on Gaza. For example, the Israeli Air Force significantly relies on Lockheed Martin’s Longbow Hellfire (AGM-114L) missiles to carry out strikes on the Gaza Strip. As of March 2024, UNSW has invested $2.97 million in weapons manufacturers, including Lockhead Martin, thereby enabling these companies to arm Israel’s military in its devastating bombardment of neighborhoods in Gaza.
The Israel government’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza has resulted in countless civilian causalities, amounting to genocide according to international law reports published by the United Nations and the University Network for Human Rights. On July 19th 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel unlawfully occupies the Gaza Strip and West Bank – Palestinian sites which have been subject to the Israel government’s illegal settlement and resource extraction regimes for decades.
What is a Student General Meeting and what will the meeting at UNSW involve?
Students for Palestine UNSW define a Student General Meeting (SGM) as a “mass meeting of students where they debate and vote on important issues”. An SGM provides an opportunity for students to exercise their democratic right to peaceful assembly and non-violent political protest.
In response to UNSW’s ties to the devastating bombardment of Gaza, Students for Palestine UNSW will be hosting an SGM on-campus on Wednesday, September 25th. Cherish Kuehlmann, the Education Officer at UNSW’s Student Representative Council, argues that UNSW’s financial and research ties contradict its stated values.
“As Education Officer, I’ve been part of this Students for Palestine campaign to get UNSW to cut ties with the genocide because universities should be about education, making the world a better place, justice, everything they claim to be about,” she wrote.
“UNSW’s slogan this year is ‘progress for all’, which is sickening as they continue to invest almost $3 million in weapons companies arming Israel’s genocide. UNSW can’t claim it is for progress if it is complicit in this crime against humanity.”
According to Students for Palestine UNSW, this meeting will focus on three key priorities:
- UNSW must disclose and divest from any financial investment in weapons companies
- UNSW must end its research partnerships with weapons manufacturers, including Lockhead Martin and Boeing
- Students must take a stand for a free Palestine
These priorities will inform a student-led discussion on the role universities play in ending a war which has led to multiple breaches of international humanitarian law on both sides of the Israel-Hamas war. This discussion will culminate in a collective vote in support of a free, self-governing Palestine in Palestinian territories – territories which include the Gaza strip and the West Bank.
Why every vote counts
In recent history, boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movements have played a critical role in promoting human rights and social change through non-violent means. As noted by former Executive Director of Jewish Voice for Peace, Rebecca Vilkomerson, these BDS movements have been essential in advancing human rights globally. For instance, BDS movements have been utilised by activists to promote civil rights in the United States, India’s independence from Britain as led by Mahatma Gandhi, as well as anti-apartheid struggles in South Africa.
Examples of successful student-led BDS actions can be found both in Australia and worldwide. As of May 2024, the University of Melbourne became the first Australian university to respond to the disclosure demands of student protesters. In a statement,the University of Melbourne agreed to disclose its research and investment ties, including the parties involved in university research projects and the amount of funding allocated to these projects. Similarly, in the United States, Portland State University administrators agreed to pause their ties with Boeing following student demands to divest and cut ties from the weapons manufacturer. Brown University also pledged to hold a vote on divesting from weapons companies in response to student protests.
In Australia, student-led divestment movements continue to take place across Australian universities, with thousands of students attending SGMs at the University of Queensland, University of Sydney, University of Melbourne and other Australian universities to vote in favour of Palestinian statehood in accordance with international law. Students for Palestine UNSW convener Gina Elias urges students at UNSW to join students across Australia in calling for an end to Gaza’s bombardment.
“Students around the world are demanding that our universities end their complicity in the genocide. We have an obligation to do something and protest for justice,” she wrote.
“Everyone who is against this genocide has to show up and attend our UNSW Student General Meeting on September 25th to vote for UNSW to cut its ties with the genocide. We need to show UNSW how many students support Palestine, to make it an issue that they can’t ignore.”
“It’s been over 10 months and not only are Gazans still being bombed, starved and displaced, but so is the West Bank. UNSW must end its research programs, its financial investments, and all of its ties that boost the weapons companies like Lockheed Martin and Boeing in their ability to arm Israel’s genocide.”
Students for Palestine UNSW will be leading a series of campaign workshops each Thursday at UNSW in preparation for the Week 3 SGM on Wednesday 25th September. For more information about how you can be involved, follow Students for Palestine UNSW on Instagram (@studentsforpalestineunsw) and Facebook. Sign the pledge form now!