NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and AUJS meet with Mark Scott
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip described the meeting as 'extremely robust and direct'
The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBD) “stands ready to pursue other options to ensure the wellbeing of Jewish staff and students at the University of Sydney” should the university not respond satisfactorily to its concerns, president David Ossip said on Friday.
Representatives from the JBD together with the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) met with University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor Mark Scott on Friday morning. The meeting had been scheduled for next week but was brought forward after Scott capitulated to ostensibly pro-Palestinian protestors on campus with an offer to explore divesting from Israeli institutions.
In an email to the community on Friday afternoon, Ossip described the meeting as “extremely robust and direct” and said the JBD and AUJS expressed their “unadulterated outrage at the needless capitulation and concessions” that were offered to members of the encampment.
“We made it clear that the University has both a moral and legal obligation to ensure that its campus is safe for Jewish students and staff and that, instead of seeking to appease the encampment, the University should instead use the powers available to it to end the encampment as well as respond to other manifestations of antisemitism on campus (including the unacceptable denial of the events of October 7 by at least one of its academics),” he wrote.
“We noted that whilst the offer responded to the “deeply held concerns of the encampment”, it manifestly failed to respond to the immense concerns of Jewish students and staff as well as our community more broadly. The offer also sets a dangerous precedent and creates a playbook for any other group who may wish to exert pressure on the University going forward to extract concessions.”
The University will respond in writing to the concerns raised by the JBD and AUJS early next week.
comments