The University of Melbourne student union has rescinded a controversial motion calling for the university to boycott and divest from Israel after being threatened with legal action and a potential class action.
Postgraduate law student Justin Riazaty, 21, engaged pro bono lawyers to send a letter of demand to the University of Melbourne Student Union calling on them to rescind the motion and apologise.
The motion passed on April 29 called for the university to launch an academic boycott and cut ties with “Israeli institutions, researchers and academics that support the Israeli oppression of Palestinians”. It also called for divestment from corporations involved with Israel.
In a meeting on Thursday, the student council reiterated it was “committed to a voice on the Palestinian cause”. But it proposed to rescind and amend the earlier motion “due to a desire for UMSU’s funds to not be unnecessarily spent defending legal proceedings and to ensure that motions are robust, passed with due diligence and with regard to the interests of members”.
The council moved to draft a bridging motion to explain the reasons for the rescission and undertake a consultation process and establish a working group.
Riazaty, a Liberal Party member who is not Jewish but claims to have many friends who are, said at the time that he believed UMSU acted outside of its purpose as a student union by violating the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 and the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001.
Read the article by Nicole Precel and Marta Pascual Juanola in The Age.