The University of Melbourne Palestine Action Group (UniMelb PAG) held a speak-out against Israelβs war crimes on November 15 at the Raymond Priestly building.
Students, staff and National Tertiary Education Union members condemned Vice Chancellor Duncan Maskell for keeping the ties with Lockheed Martin, including its $13 million investment in its new STELaRLab (Science, Technology, Engineering Leadership and Research Laboratory).
Lockheed Martin sells fighter jets, rocket systems, rockets and radars to the Israeli Defense Force.
UniMelb PAG also criticised the International Holocaust Remembrance Allianceβs (IHRA) definition of antisemitism which is a tool to silence anyone who criticises Israel. It also criticised the VCβs βMessage concerning the Israel-Gaza warβ for failing to acknowledge Israelβs brutality against Gazans.
The student group supports the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement and invites people to calling on the university to condemn Israelβs attack on Gaza, to end its partnership with Lockheed Martin and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (which has expressed support for the IDF) and to rescind the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
[The UniMelb for Palestine Action Groupβs statement and open letter can be read on Overland . The University of Melbourne Palestine Action Group can be followed on Insta .]