Student activist Bea Tucker has had their expulsion from the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra overturned by a university appeals committee, in a victory for free speech and the campaign for Palestine.
Bea was disciplined for comments during an ABC interview where they expressed solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for national liberation and their right under international law to resist Israeli occupation, saying, “Hamas deserves our unconditional support … Not because I agree with their strategy, [I’m in] complete disagreement with that.”
An open letter opposing the expulsion was signed by 1200 academics, students and members of the community.
At campuses across the country, students have faced disciplinary action for speaking out and taking action against the genocide in Gaza.
Many universities have links with weapons companies and exchange partnerships with Israeli universities. ANU offers internships with arms company Northrop Grumman and has an office on campus for the Australian Signals Directorate, which runs Pine Gap.
University administrations have set out to silence students and staff who are opposing the genocide, and demanding university administrations cuts ties with the Israeli apartheid state.
It should never be a crime to uphold the right of oppressed people to resist or to campaign for a free Palestine.
