NTEU Members for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions – An initiative of Australian university staff in support of peace and justice in Palestine and Israel
A new collective of Australian university staff have begun campaigning in support of Palestinian rights, and for the institutional boycott of Israeli universities. The group was formed in November 2014, with website launched in January 2015.
“Our goal is to promote discussion and adoption of the academic and cultural boycott of Israel, which we consider to be an effective way for university staff to contribute to the cause of peace and justice in the Middle East.”
As the name of the group indicates, we are members of the National Tertiary Education Union, Australia’s largest union for university staff. As has been shown many times in the past, the collective strength of the union is the best way for university staff to hold an institution to account for its policies. Naturally this applies in the industrial sphere, but it also holds true for our universities’ global positioning and collaborative ties. We believe, therefore, that the NTEU is the most appropriate space for university staff to raise and advance the issue of BDS.
NTEU Members for BDS aims to encourage university staff across the country to promote the institutional boycott on campus, to provide a forum for the sharing of resources, and where appropriate, to coordinate cross-campus activities among union members. The precise form of on-campus BDS activism varies from place to place across the country. Some of us belong to explicitly pro-BDS groups such as Sydney Staff for BDS; others campaign in a variety of Palestinian solidarity organisations. We have established NTEU Members for BDS as a way to facilitate communication amongst what we see as a growing community of supporters of BDS on university campuses.
For now, we’re asking university staff in the NTEU to sign our petition for the union to take the question of BDS seriously, and create space in our branches for a full airing of the issue. Please sign and share the petition with your colleagues and workmates. Add your email to the petition if you want to stay in touch with the group.
If you are a staff member at an Australian university who would like to join our campaign but do not belong to the NTEU, we strongly encourage you to join the union.
Click here to LEARN MORE about the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel >>>
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