Support for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel within the university staff union, the NTEU, is growing.
In May, over 300 staff at Sydney Uni voted for an academic boycott of Israeli institutions and to cut all ties with arms companies, including research funding and scholarships from the defence industry.
Similar BDS motions have now been passed at Melbourne University and UNSW, with UTS set to vote later this month.
Universities across the country have deep ties to weapons companies, including research partnerships with companies.
Lockheed Martin for instance, which makes the F-35 fighter jets, has programs at Melbourne Uni, Adelaide Uni, Newcastle Uni, ANU and University of Queensland. Many universities also have exchange partnerships with Israeli universities such as Technion and the Hebrew University that are deeply implicated in its military system.
Political repression has been fierce, with The Australian targeting pro-Palestine academics and staff at Sydney University facing disciplinary action for raising the Palestinian flag. But support for Palestine has steadily grown on campus.
NTEU members from universities across the country convened a national “NTEU for Palestine” meeting on 3 September attended by over 220 members. This backed a BDS motion going to the union’s National Council meeting as well as a national day of action for NTEU members on 23 October.
The meeting also passed a solidarity motion with the CFMEU, and collected over $1000 in donations for locked out CFMEU members at Etex in Sydney.
These efforts show how we can both broaden support for Palestine at a workplace level, and build the pressure for sanctions on Israel both at a local level and on the Albanese government.
By Matte Rochford
