University of Sydney students reject motion condemning Hamas

More than 500 students at the University of Sydney voted to reject a motion to condemn Hamas’s barbaric attack on Oct. 7, drawing international criticism.

The Student General Meeting (SGM) of the Student Representative Council (SRC) on Aug. 8 featured only two pro-Israel speakers, who were heckled and ridiculed by the crowd, with one reportedly spat on by students in the front row.

The defeated motion to “condemn the attacks of October 7th and condemn the genocidal terrorist organization Hamas,” was introduced by university student Satvik Sharma, reported the university’s weekly student newspaper Honi Soit.

“You guys have just voted against condemning the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust,” Sharma said.

A second pro-Israel student, Freya Leach, was also jeered. She told the audience that “you cannot support human rights and not condemn a radical jihadist terrorist regime.”

She earned particular opprobrium, and was forced to pause, when she said, “You cannot say you support queer people and not condemn Hamas who take a shariah law view of gay people and suggest they should be thrown off buildings.”

Leach unfurled an Israeli flag as she walked up the stairs after her remarks.

The students overwhelmingly passed two anti-Israel resolutions: one calling for the school to “cut ties with the genocide in Gaza” and divest from weapons makers and institutions of higher education in Israel, and a second supporting a Palestinian state and the Palestinians’ “right to resist,” i.e. to engage in violent attack.

After the two anti-Israel motions were passed, “a large contingent” of students marched to the vice chancellor’s office chanting, “Divest, divest your many, many billions. Your profits are covered in the blood of Palestinians,” the student paper reported.

In an Aug. 9 interview with Sky News Australia, Leach was asked by host Rita Panahi, “How do we get to a situation where the majority of students vote against a motion to condemn Hamas?”

“I am in disbelief as much as you are. I think we all knew campuses were toxic. We all knew that the levels of antisemitism we’re seeing are unacceptable. But I think what last night showed is these people are not just anti-Israel. They’re actually pro Hamas. They’re pro terrorism,” Leach said.

Describing the atmosphere in the room, Leach recalled students laughing at her when she talked about the rape of Israeli women, the treatment of queer people by Hamas and the importance of human rights.

“I had one girl screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’ in my face. They don’t see you as human anymore,” Leach said. “Campuses have always been hotbeds for political activism and debate, and that’s how it should be. But now this is not activism. It is actually just hate. And it’s all about spreading hate and shutting down anybody that disagrees with you and dehumanizing them.”

The University of Sydney released a statement on Aug. 8 saying it “unequivocally condemns violence, terrorism and any violations of human rights.”

The statement continued, “Since the onset of the conflict in the Middle East, we have made it abundantly clear to our community that we do not tolerate any pro-terrorist statements or commentary, including support for Hamas—and any demonstration of support will result in disciplinary action and other possible legal consequences.”

The school said it’s investigating reports of “inappropriate conduct” at the meeting and the legality of some materials promoting the event.

“Central to democracy is the freedom for individuals to express diverse and differing opinions and any attempt to intimidate, silence or exclude views is contrary to who we are as a university,” the statement said.