Anarchist Rees
Professor Stuart Rees has multiple plays at anarchy in trying to vitiate
Julia Gillard government’s policy declaring the BDS and antisemitism improper.
These ideas manifestly being supported by both main political parties.
JG:''It means remaining alert to new
vehicles by which hatred and social poison can be spread''
Julia here clearly vitiates the
boycoteers’ illegal ‘policy’ as a poison by another name.
The Australian 14/5: Anti-BDS stance `easy,
populist'
The PM et al also signed the London Declaration on Combating
Antisemitism, Rees response? ‘’Childish, thoughtless but easily
populist''.The Australian 14/5
Plainly he demands the
right to be anti semitic. And unpopular? Very unpopular?
Rees also unilaterally
ignored his Vice Chancellor Stuart Spence’s demand - "I do not consider it appropriate for the university
to boycott academic institutions...’’ –The Australian
10/5
But it gets arguably worse. There are two on this
earth with these views. Rees’ fellow traveller at the centre of the much –
parodied Peace and Conflict AKA Boycott studies confirmed his demands as
follows:
‘’The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement is
conceived as part of a remedial strategy in the face of inadequate government
responses to Israeli policy.’’
Jake Lynch, director, Centre for
Peace and Conflict Studies, Sydney University’’ The Australian
11/12/12
Maybe the professor emeritus R and Lynch should
should form a BDS Party, get the numbers on the floor of the House of
Representatives and stop acting as if he /they cannot be sacked!
Geoff Seidner
13 Alston Gr
East St Kilda 3183
03 9525 9299
Academic
rights
From:The
Australian
December 11, 2012 12:00AM
SUPPORTING the call for a boycott of
institutional links with Israeli universities does not have anything to do with
race or racism. Under my direction, the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies
has hosted public talks by several prominent Jewish
speakers.
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
movement is conceived as part of a remedial strategy in the face of inadequate
government responses to Israeli policy.
It is my right as a member of the
academic staff of the University of Sydney to comment publicly on the matter as
I have. The comments you have obtained from opposition frontbenchers constitute
a political attack on freedom of expression.
Jake Lynch, director, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies,
Sydney University
Boycott
campaign formally rejected
UNIVERSITY of Sydney
officials have released an uncompromising statement opposing the Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions movement and rejecting calls from the director of its
Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Jake Lynch, to sever links with Israeli
institutions.
The statement came as
Green and socialist members of the Students Representative Council stayed away
from a meeting on Wednesday night where a motion countering pro-BDS moves was
expected, denying the meeting a quorum so no business could take
place.
The statement
acknowledged "lots of comments and questions about the Students Representative
Council's motion to support the boycott of Israeli university Technion . . . The
University of Sydney does not support the SRC motion nor the proposal originally
put by Associate Professor Jake Lynch."
The statement quotes
vice-chancellor Michael Spence as saying: "I do not consider it appropriate for
the university to boycott academic institutions in a country with which
Australia has diplomatic relations. Should the Australian government suspend
diplomatic relations with Israel or request the university to suspend its
institutional relationships with Israeli universities, then the question should
be revisited.
Tuesday 14 May 2013
Anti-BDS stance `easy, popular'
but easily
populist''.
Author: EXCLUSIVE, CHRISTIAN KERR
Publication:
The Australian (2,Tue 14 May 2013)
Edition: N - Canberra
Section:
Local
Keywords: human (1),rights (1)
SYDNEY Peace Foundation head Stuart Rees has lashed
out at Julia Gillard for signing the London Declaration on Combating
Anti-Semitism, calling the gesture ``childish, thoughtless but easily
populist''.
Professor Rees is on the staff of the
University of Sydney's controversial Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies,
which last year denied a request for co-operation from the only Israeli academic
to create a civics curriculum for both Jewish and Arab school
students.
The centre cited its support for the Boycott, Divestment and
Sanctions movement, which explicitly equates Israel with apartheid-era South
Africa.
Last month the Prime Minister became the first Australian
parliamentarian to sign the London Declaration. ``This declaration reminds us
that combating anti-Semitism is an active process, not a passive one,'' she
said. ``It demands vigilance. It means remaining alert to new vehicles by which
hatred and social poison can be spread.''
Professor Rees originally made
his comments in an email responding to comments made by opposition frontbencher
Christopher Pyne when he attacked the BDS movement on Friday.
``Activism,
boycotts and sometimes sanctions campaigns aren't always anti-Semitic, but when
you target individual businesses because they are Jewish, it is clearly
anti-Semitic,'' Mr Pyne said in a statement on the declaration, pointing to BDS
activity at universities in NSW.
``It is sad that 70 years after the
second world war and the discovery of the Holocaust we are still having to
defend the right of Jewish people to live in their Jewish homeland in Israel
free from this kind of anti-Semitic campaign.''
Professor Rees dismissed
his remarks as ``the usual childish, thoughtless but easily populist response''
in the email, which was obtained by The Australian. ``Justice for the
Palestinians and indeed security for Israelis deserves more than predicable
`happy to get on any easy bandwagon' approach of this politician.''
Asked
if his criticisms also applied to Ms Gillard, Professor Rees responded ``of
course''. ``The resort to charges of anti-Semitism regarding the world-wide
criticisms of the internationally illegal policies of the government of Israel
is an age-old technique to stifle any criticism of blatant human rights
abuses,'' he said.
Mr Pyne said: ``It is disappointing that Professor
Rees is the director of the Sydney Peace Foundation and yet also a supporter of
the BDS movement that seeks to delegitimise Israel, targets Jewish businesses
and prohibits a healthy cultural exchange between universities and in so doing
damages the prospects for peace.''
Professor Rees declined to comment
yesterday, saying he had just returned from overseas.
COMMENTARY
P10
EDITORIAL P11