The University of Sydney has ordered activists at its pro-Palestine encampment to pack up the protest as it readies for students to return in the second semester.
The order comes almost two months after student activists first set up the encampment in solidarity with similar protests on American campuses to demand the university cut ties with arms manufacturers and Israeli institutions.
On Friday, the Students for Palestine USyd Instagram account urged its followers to defend the encampment after the University started removing empty tents from the lawn.
“🚨 🚨 we need people to defend the USyd Gaza solidarity encampment right now! 🚨 🚨” the page wrote.
“Management and security are trying to claim that the camp and its tents are unattended so that they can clear the site out. They have a truck already loaded up with tents and we need your help!!”
Speaking on the university’s move, a spokesperson said the institution has always worked to help encampment activists clean the area and was now ridding it of vacated tents.
“We have continually removed rubbish and broken items from the encampment site as needed and today we have again begun removing broken items and unattended items,” the spokesperson said.
“As there are also a number of tents which have been damaged and are not being used overnight, we have asked the owners of those tents to retrieve their property.”
The encampment activists were at odds with the university recently after several rounds of failed negotiations led to protestors being ordered to vacate as Sydney University geared up for its second semester.
“Following the last rejection of our proposal we have also now instructed the encampment representatives that we require them to vacate the encampment to allow other students to use the space,” the spokesperson said.
“For some weeks we have tried to negotiate with encampment representatives to come to a peaceful resolution.”
The spokesperson continued to argue the university’s front lawns, where encampment activists have lived for about two months, were a “shared space” which should be inclusive to all members of the institution’s community.
“Since 24 April, the encampment has taken over this shared space to the exclusion of others,” they said.
“We have repeatedly stated since the encampment began that we support the right to peaceful protest, provided it does not cause significant disruption to core University operations.
“We consider preparations for Semester 2 to be core University operations, and any activity that impedes our ability to prepare for them in the usual fashion constitutes a significant and unacceptable disruption.”
The order comes after the university attempted to negotiate with encampment activists by offering to disclose its ties to defence research but would not axe relations with Israeli universities, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Vice-Chancellor Mark Scott, who has previously defended the activists’ use of the anti-Israel phrase “from the river to the sea”, firmed this position in an email to staff and students at the institution last week.
“The University will … continue to support the right of our academics and students to do research, partner with industry and collaborate with people from around the world,” Mr Scott wrote.
Encampment activists were joined by American rapper Macklemore last month while he was on tour in Australia.
The rapper was seen in an Instagram video from the Students for Palestine USyd account inviting others to support a rally hosted by the protestors.
“What’s up? It’s Macklemore,” he said.
“Just wanted to shout out all the students at Sydney University encampment. Come down. Support. Free Palestine.”
At the time, Macklemore was touring Australia with a pro-Palestine song labelled “hateful” by some in the Jewish community.
In Sydney, he performed his song “Hind’s Hall”, which was named after the building at Columbia University that students occupied and renamed after a six-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza, Hind Rajab, in Sydney.
After delivering a short introduction to the track, leading the crowd in a chant of “free, free Palestine”, Macklemore said it was “beautiful” to see so much support for Palestine.
“It has been beautiful to see, around the world, solidarity with the Palestinian people,” he said.
“People that have spoken up and used their voice, and have stood up against genocide, that are advocating for liberation and freedom of all human beings all over the world.”