On Tuesday 15 September 2009, AProf Jake Lynch of the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies University of Sydney held a meeting at which he wanted to discuss what further steps could be taken “*to reduce the entanglement of the University of Sydney with the higher eduction industry in Israel*”. The journalist Antony Loewenstein was invited to show slides of a recent visit to Gaza and Prof. John Docker was to speak on the boycott of Israeli education institutions.

Earlier this year, Jake Lynch had written on behalf of 22 University colleagues to the Vice Chancellor to ask for cancellation of the University’s ties (these are mainly scholarships) with the Technion University and the Hebrew University.

The meeting of about 30 which included also non-academic “Free Palestine” sympathizers was joined half way by about 30 Israel supporters: A Prof. Suzanne Rutland was given a few minutes to speak in question time and spoke eloquently against the boycott. Students from the Australasian Union for
Jewish Students, the Australian Labour Party and the Liberal party, a recipient of a scholarship to the HU and a student studying in Israel all spoke brilliantly against the boycott.

From the side of the boycott supporters there was talk about Israeli genocide and massacre (Docker) and the One State Solution (Loewenstein).

I came away with the impression that perhaps the discourse about the boycott is upheld by those academics and professionals who are most to gain from it. The question arises if academic participants initiating the boycott are in fact advancing their own academic or professional interest as the Palestinian-Israel conflict generates a rich source for research and publications. How many academics from disciplines outside the social sciences are actively calling for a boycott?

I felt pity for the Muslim lady who spoke about the need to support Palestinian universities and students. She was not going to get it from this meeting, as true dialogue was not the intention.

A full report of the meeting is available on request.

Nick Dyrenfurth, who attended the meeting, wrote an opinion piece about it for The Australian with Philip Mendes:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,26093126-7583,00.html

In a further follow up, an alumnus of Sydney University and SPME member wrote to the VC about Jake Lynch’s credibility as an academic and the intended boycott. The VC replied: “… *The University responded in June by not acceding to this proposed action. The University does not consider it
appropriate to boycott academic institutions in a country with which Australia has diplomatic relations*.”