Australia student elections party is named "Globalise the Intifada"

From Honi Soit:

Activist group Solidarity is contesting the annual [Students’ Representative Council] elections under the ticket name ‘Globalise the Intifada’ and pushing for students to vote in a referendum to sever institutional ties between the university and Israel. 

Some election materials from the ticket, placed outside of designated areas, have also been removed by the University. 

A spokesperson for the University said: “Everyone should feel like they belong on our campuses and we take seriously the distress reported by members of our community. Lawful political expression is an important part of university life, but it must be balanced with our responsibility to protect the psychosocial and physical safety of our community.   

“We have taken immediate action in response to complaints about this SRC election ticket and materials and are removing relevant material displayed outside authorised areas; we’ve also asked the independent SRC Electoral Officer to explain how the ticket name was assessed and approved under the SRC’s constitutional and regulatory framework.”

‘Globalise the Intifada’ campaigner Vieve Carnsew, who is contesting the SRC presidency, said that the phrase is not illegal in NSW. 

“‘Globalise the Intifada’ is a call for action to free Palestine and end the violence and genocide of Israel’s occupation,” Vieve Carnsew said. 

Carnsew a (they/them) indigenous activist, never held a role in the SRC. But she wants to win because Palestine is the center of her universe, and it should be everyone else's major issue, too:

“Palestine is the biggest issue to focus on right now” because it impacts everyone, affecting freedom of speech and government budgeting, with military spending taking away funding from “things that are far more useful” such as the healthcare system and education. 

In an interview, Carnsew was asked what her top three policy commitments would be. She said "Yeah, so we don't have like policy commitments."

Anti-Israel activists are sort of like children on the spectrum who can only focus on one thing and get angry at anyone who wants to talk about anything else. 

The job pays AUS $42,000 a year as of 2021.

(h/t Jill)

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