To stand for Palestine means to stand for the rights of First Nations people, and to stand for the rights of First Nations people means to stand for the rights of Palestinians.
Following recent escalation in the Israel-Palestine conflict – characterised by the former’s settler-colonial aggression in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem – last Thursday’s contribution to the SRC’s Radical Education (Rad Ed) thought critically about Australia’s role in the international response to the Palestinian struggle, exploring the parallels between the historical plights of displaced Palestinians and First Nations’ Australians. Panellists also discussed the importance of student activism in decolonising universities.
Hosted by SRC General Secretary Alana Ramshaw, the panel consisted of Palestinian activist and UNSW organiser Amal Naser, and Wiradjuri Wailwan activist and incoming Honi editor Ethan Floyd.
After brief introductions, Ramshaw kicked off the session by asking the panel, “What does Indigenous advocacy look like and mean to you? Do we have a mandate to oppose settler-colonialism around the world, particularly in Palestine?”
Floyd began the discussion by describing his experience with First Nations advocacy.
“It [First Nations activism] takes many forms. It’s about reforming the curriculum and making universities culturally safe spaces. It’s about land and property rights, and it’s also about addressing some systemic disparities in areas of health and justice.”
Read the article by Luke Mesterovic and Ethan Floyd in Honi Soit.