Randa Abdel-Fattah Instagram – @teachers4palestine_vic stand in solidarity with anti-genocide, pro-Palestine university student protestors who have received misconduct notices from their education institutions for exercising their right to protest as part of the student-led encampments on university campuses.
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@teachers4palestine_vic condemn the education institutions’ attack on students’ right to protest. We also condemn the surveillance and monitoring techniques used by some education institutions to target student protestors, including the use of location tracking and CCTV footage. We see this as a targeted attack on anti-genocide and pro-Palestine students through the use of intimidation and repression tactics to protect institutions’ economic interests, which is indefensible.
To our knowledge we know that at least one of the students who has been targeted by their education institution and issued a notice of misconduct is a student studying education. Is this how education institutions choose to treat future educators who stand up for human rights?
“Health and safety” allegations are also included in the misconduct letters institutions issued to university students. Like the directives issued by the Department of Education to some teachers and school staff to remove their keffiyehs to “protect the psychological and emotional wellbeing of children”, we see this as another attempt made by the education sector to censor and repress people who take action against genocide through the misuse of the language of ‘safety’ and on the false grounds of wrongdoing.
We reject this hypocrisy that weaponises the language of ‘safety’ and claims of misconduct in an attempt to punish individuals who are part of an anti-genocide movement that is calling for an end to the dangerous misconduct of all institutions and governments enabling Israel’s genocide of Palestinian people.
@teachers4palestine_vic emphasise that everyone’s right to stand against genocide must be protected from censorship and repression tactics that penalise individuals in an attempt to instigate public fear about protest and actions that hold institutions and governments accountable. | Posted on 28/Jun/2024 12:04:50
