Ben & Gideon Mark Their Diaries: Australian Israel-haters to fly in the big guns

Gideon Levy in full flood

Hot on the heels of the BDS Conference that has just taken place at the University of Sydney, with the usual suspects in place, comes notification by Israel-bashers and -haters Down Under of another chin-wagging onslaught against the Jewish State.

Under the auspices of AFOPA (the Australian Friends of Palestine Association), it's due to take place in Adelaide in late November:

'This year, 2017, marks important anniversaries pertaining to the issue of Palestine. It is the 100 year anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, 100 years of Australian involvement in Palestine, and 50 years of Israeli Occupation. The 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement set the scene by carving up the region into the modern Middle East, and the 1956 Suez Crisis highlighted the geo-political importance of the region. Collectively these significant events have influenced the destiny of the Palestinians and the inhabitants of the region, shaped international and Australian involvement in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

This three-day symposium seeks to examine Palestine and the West: History, Contemporary Realities and Challenges Ahead.

The focus of this academic symposium will be Palestine in the context of the West, and not the West in the context of Palestine. The central theme will be Palestine, its past, present, and its future.

Historical interventions and their impact on Palestinians will set the scene of the theme of this symposium. Experts in the field will examine the impact of these interventions on contemporary realities within the Palestinian territories and among Palestinians wherever they are found. The symposium will examine Palestine in context of the MENA region from both micro and macro levels. It will cover international and regional developments and their impact on Palestinians within the Palestinian territories, within Israel, those exiled or living in neighbouring countries, or the Diaspora. The impact of 50 years of Israeli occupation, or almost 70 years of Palestinian displacement since 1948 will also be addressed.

 The challenges ahead for Palestinians and the prospects of a just and peaceful resolution will be discussed, as will possible solutions to resolving this core international conflict. 

The Symposium will be inviting a number of Australian and international guests, each scholars or experts in their fields, including:

  Mr Gideon Levy, acclaimed journalist with the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, who will deliver the keynote annual Edward Said Memorial Lecture;

    Dr Mohammed Shtayyeh, member of the PLO Negotiation Team

    Dr Peter Slezak, University of New South Wales, Independent Australian Jewish Voices

    Dr Ahmad Shboul AM, University of Sydney

    Mr Ben White, writer, journalist, researcher and activist

    Ms Samah Sabawi, acclaimed Palestinian-Canadian-Australian writer, commentator, playwright and PhD candidate.

    Further speakers to be listed as they are confirmed.'  [Emphasis added]

As reported by Rachel Baxendale in The Australian on 19 July, 

A smiling Lynch looks on ...

'The University of Sydney has distanced itself from a controversial Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions conference being hosted by its Department of Peace and Conflict Studies, after members of the Jewish community labelled the gathering an “anti-Israel hate-fest”.

The department is holding the conference on July 28-29 in conjunction with lobby group Sydney University Staff for BDS and a range of pro-Palestinian organisations. Conference events include a speech on Palestinian rights under Donald Trump by US Campaign for Palestinian Rights executive director Yousef ­Munayyer, a paper by pro-BDS academic Jake Lynch on the pro-Israel influence in Australia, and a panel discussing anti-Semitism with pro-BDS Jewish speakers Peter ­Slezak, Marcello Svirsky and Vivienne Porzsolt....

...and students take their seats while Hage awaits his cue

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Vic Alhadeff said the obsessive focus on BDS by the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies ignored the reality that it does nothing to advance a resolution to the conflict.

 “Then there is the irony that the organisers have scheduled a discussion on working with the Jewish community for a Saturday, automatically excluding ­observant Jews and demonstrating how tokenistic any attempts to understand the Jewish community actually are,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the University of Sydney said the institution was strongly committed to academic freedom and to being a forum for debate on a wide range of issues. “The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions policy is not a university-endorsed policy.”'

 If you're a glutton for punishment (Professor Ghassan Hage for one is a very boring speaker), you can read and see more about the conference here

How the News We Watch Can Shape The Way We Think: BDSer Jake's BBC Take (video)

The London Times of 25 July 1994 carried an article by the BBC's world affairs editor John Simpson entitled "When reporters act on their consciences".  Unfortunately, I don't have a copy in front of me now, but from memory the springboard for the article was a recent broadcast in which BBC television reporter (later newsreader) George Alagiah abandoned objectivity to advocate for a particular cause, so outraged was he at what he was seeing around him.

Simpson evidently understood and approved, and foreshadowed more instances of the kind.

Nowadays, of course, the intrusion of BBC reporters' own sympathies and prejudices into their reportage has become, if not commonplace, then certainly a matter for concern, as indeed is the case regarding certain broadcasters on the ABC, Australia's answer to the BBC, its Middle East correspondent Sophie McNeill having before her controversial appointment made no secret of the fact that she considers herself an activist as well as a journalist. 

The following 12-minute video dates to 2014.  It features Jake Lynch, the BDS-happy associate professor who heads the so-called Peace and Conflict Centre at the University of Sydney.  In his discussion of his background as a BBC presenter he refers to how "peace journalism" informed his broadcasts, how he steered interviews in order to incorporate it, how the BBC effectively allowed him to take the line he chose, and how useful a tool it is in shaping audience responses to international conflicts.

The video provides an insight into former anti-Apartheid (the real apartheid, in South Africa) activist Lynch's anti-Israel bias and is an indicator of the BBC's leftist bias, and lack of concern for the objectivity incumbent upon it by its Charter and Producers' Guidelines.  (The academic Boycott of Israel, incidentally, raises its ugly head at 9:23).

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33abvpH5L3c)

No Imperialism or Islamophobia Please: We're Leftists

BDSer Associate Professor Jake Lynch has been talking to the Aussie Green Left Weekly about his reportedly troubled Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at Sydney University.

https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/61387

 And look who was spotted in the audience for this talk at Sydney Uni by John Pilger yesterday:

Photo credit: Peter Boyle

Meanwhile (in contrast to the good sense expressed by conservative columnist Andrew Bolt here and here), in an article entitled "Blame Hate, Not Islam: Europe's Left responds to terror attacks," the Aussie Green Left has been quick to defend the Religion of Peace following the Islamic terror attacks in Brussels, and to take a little swipe at the Zionist Entity in the process.

Inter alia, it tells readers:

'Grassroots groups across Europe are warning against succumbing to misguided and bigoted speech in the wake of the latest terrorist atrocity in Belgium.

Reacting to the terror attacks in Brussels on March 22, an Israeli state official echoed the typical narrative conflating Islam and terrorism, and the idea of a clash of a civilisation.

"This is a Third World War against our common values," Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said, according to the Jerusalem Post. "Terrorism must unite Western countries to unite for a determined, creative, and uncompromising fight against its origins, funders, and operators." Western culture is under attack from extremist Islamic terrorism, which is relentless and indiscriminate, Ya'alon added.

In Europe, calls for increasing security and tightening borders pushed anti-racist groups to issue both condolences and warnings against Islamophia amid the sorrow... 

Brushing away heated polemic, some groups instead opted for a sober anti-imperialist analysis...

Islamophobic comments flooded social media following the attacks, with #StopIslam trending on Twitter in major European countries including Belgium, France, Turkey, Germany, Britain and the Netherlands..."

More on the same theme from CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations), in an article entitled "While Brussels aches, Muslims brace for another round of Islamophobia":

Going Under Down Under: A colonel of truth

Hat tip to legendary bloodhound Ian for this one!

Whoops!

Read what the colonel read here

The following linked article's behind a paywall:

But this one, in an Aussie leftist mag, isn't:

Here it is.

And (fix bayonets!) here's  Senator Lee Rhiannon of pro-BDS infamy doing her best to defend the embattled Centre.

"The Greatest Tragedy Under The Sun ... We Will Return ... That Is A Promise" (updated)

In London, outside the entrance to Downing Street, a band of anti-Israel fanatics preach their hatred of Israel to a gaggle of the converted.

We have only to look at the logo behind the speakers, a map of Israel and the disputed territories which is coloured entirely in green, white and red, to know what the aim of these people is.

I may be wrong, but it seems to me that the bloke at the beginning has the "Nakba" occurring in 1938, a date that he mentions twice (have a listen).

And here's another video from the same cameraman.  The photos at the beginning could easily be matched by Israel, depicting photos of the expulsion of Jews from their Jerusalem homes by Arab troops during the War of Independence that the Arabs started, to say nothing of the "Jewish Nakba".

Among the numerous Muslims in this video are, inevitably, a posse of Neturei Karta nutjobs:

Inevitably, protests against the "Nakba" have been occurring around the globe.
 
Here's one in Pakistan, from whence most British Muslims derive:

 There was "street theatre" in Melbourne's central business district, but as somebody has said to me, "Audience estimated at zero".

Certainly, most of the pedestrians striding by seem totally oblivious to this little exercise in Israel-demonisation:

Needless to say, there has also been a turnout of Israel-haters in Sydney.  Here are some of the types who participated in its "Nakba protest".

Jake Lynch and academic friends:

The Israel-demonising Far Left:

Those who should be protesting about the Arab nations' using Palestinian Arab refugees as pawns for the past sixty-seven years:

The Iranian regime's satellite mouthpiece Press TV reports on the Sydney rally here (but I find the video slow if not altogether reluctant to load).

Jake Lynch's Nemesis Revealed: The Redhead With The Balls

So here she is, the lady in my previous post dubbed "carrot top".

This footage is taken from a long post in support of Jake Lynch by Michael Brull, an incorrigible Israel-bashing Aussie Jewish leftist whose articles sometimes appear on the ABC's "The Drum".

See a snippet of his mindset in the dialogue I reproduced in this recent Facebook exchange with another Jewish leftist:

"Get Out! Get Out! ... Get Lost!":

"This is the woman who assaulted me":

"This is going to cost you a lot of money..."

The Carrot Top, The Crown Jewels, & The Colonel

Associate Professor Jake Lynch – the Israel-hating director of Sydney University's Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies whose c.v. includes a stint as a broadcaster with the BBC – continues to be the cynosure of numerous Australians within and without the country's Jewish community as the result of his disgraceful conduct at the talk a week ago at Sydney University by the heroic Colonel Richard Kemp (pictured, when commanding Britain's forces in Afghanistan).

Much attention (and not a little merriment) has focused on Lynch's claim that the reason he pulled a five dollar note from his shirt pocket and waved it in the face of a Jewish audience member is because she ("a lady with dyed orange-red hair, probably in her 50s" according to him but perhaps in her 60s according to an equally anti-Israel part-time member of his department) kicked him  – twice – in "the meat and two veg" (that part of the anatomy known in Pommieland, whence Lynch comes, as "the crown jewels").

Some, while relishing the image of such a well-placed move on the "ninja nana's" part (there have been claims she's in her 70s), have questioned the recipient's story, maintaining that had the carrot top really struck him where he claims he would have been doubled up in acute pain rather than responding with a thrust of the paper stuff.

Meanwhile the colonel, whose letter of protest to the vice-chancellor of Sydney University went viral at the weekend, has reiterated his disgust at the behaviour he encountered, writing (inter alia) in today's issue of The Australian newspaper:

'I spoke for about 20 minutes to an audience of about 100 students, academics and guests. A group of about a dozen people then stormed into the lecture theatre and started yelling at me and the audience through a megaphone, accusing me of “supporting genocide”, and trying to shut down the lecture.....

I heard one of the protesters yell support for the Islamist group Hizb-ut-Tahrir, a vile group that is banned in many countries, whose theo-fascist values seem to me entirely at odds with the progressive values these students claim to support.

I have addressed the UN commission of inquiry on the conduct of the parties to the Israel-Hamas war. I have condemned Hamas as a terrorist organisation and recognised the extraordinary measures to which Israel has gone to avoid civilian casualties when faced with an enemy that militarises civilian infrastructure and shields its fighters with the bodies of the civilians it claims to defend. US General Martin Dempsey, the highest ranking officer in the US Army, sent a fact-finding team to Israel and concluded the US ­forces had lessons to learn from the measures taken by Israel to spare the lives of Palestinian civilians as far as possible, often at the expense of its own soldiers.

By daring to defend the actions of the Jewish state and condemning Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, both designated terrorist organisations, I was considered fair game for the protesters. This is indicative of a pervasive culture among certain sections of university students and staff in Britain, and clearly in Australia, where to speak objectively about Israel is to court harassment, thuggery and violence. The behaviour of the protesters and the academics was an affront to the core ideals of the university
 – the freedom to speak, the freedom to assemble and the freedom to engage with ideas and opinions.'

Regarding the incident involving the lady:

'I spoke for about 20 minutes to an audience of about 100 students, academics and guests. A group of about a dozen people then stormed into the lecture theatre and started yelling at me and the audience through a megaphone, accusing me of “supporting genocide”, and trying to shut down the lecture.

Dr Riemer

The protesters occupied the lecture theatre, intimidated members of the audience and were intent on preventing the exchange of views my lecture was intended to facilitate. Two of the academics [ Lynch and Dr Nicholas Riemer, according to the colonel's above-mentioned letter] then joined them, one of whom I saw badgering an elderly woman who objected to him photographing her on his iPhone. When she tried to push the iPhone out of her face he grabbed her arm forcibly, and appeared to hurt her. When she retaliated physically, the academic – an associate professor – waved a $5 note in her face and the face of a Jewish student....

 This protest had clear anti-­Semitic undertones. The audience was predominantly Jewish and the protesters knew that. Often anti-Semitic abuse and ­hatred is dressed up as anti-Israel or anti-Zionist action. This resonated that way, with vicious shouting and intimidation against a group of Jews and brandishing money around invoking the stereotype of the “greedy Jew”.

As for Associate Professor Jake Lynch, shown to be so adept at conflict with an elderly woman, his value to the university and its students would be enhanced by listening to those who have seen real conflict and have risked their lives to secure peace.'

Also commenting about the Lynch incident again is Glen Falkenstein, policy analyst at the Australia Israel Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC), who writes, inter alia:

'Suppose a person jumps up in a lecture theatre, stands on his chair, waves money at an old Jewish woman and yells in the faces of students – would such a person be permitted to remain in the room? Now imagine it was a professor that did these things – should such a person be allowed to remain at the University? 

Associate Professor Jake Lynch, Director of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, is under investigation by the University of Sydney for allegedly intimidating attendees at a lecture and reportedly thrusting money in the face of more than one Jewish person....

I spoke with a number of Jewish students after the protest; they were clearly shaken. They told me that Associate Professor Lynch had shouted in their faces. A photo has been posted online seeming to show Lynch holding money in the face of a Jewish student, with reports of another photo showing him thrusting a five dollar note in the face of what he termed an "older lady," believed to be 75 year old Jewish woman....

The former Federal Labor MP Peter Baldwin was present at the lecture. He wrote to the Vice-Chancellor of the University, stating: "this was a truly frightening episode ... [Sydney University is] becoming increasingly poisonous and fearful for identifiably Jewish students."....

Needless to say, an adult waving money in a Jewish person's face, regardless of their motivation, would be a confronting and alienating situation. Associate Professor Lynch responded to the allegations by claiming he waved the money in the woman's face to warn her that he "would have no option but to sue her for assault if she carried on – which would cost her a lot of money." ....

A petition started by the Jewish student union calling for Associate Professor Jake Lynch to be sacked has already attracted over 5,000 signatures. It alleges he breached the University's code of conduct, which requires that staff treat students with "respect, impartiality, courtesy and sensitivity" and that "Lynch has a history of supporting harassment and discrimination against Jewish students."

 A Sydney University spokesperson commented: "The University is deeply concerned about events surrounding a protest on campus and has commenced an investigation into the incidents."The protesters, accused of disrupting a lecture, intimidating Jewish students, filming them without their permission and shouting at them could face expulsion from the University.

 A professor accused of the same, and of thrusting money in the faces of a Jewish student and an elderly Jewish woman, needs to be taken just as seriously. If the professor and the other demonstrators acted so disgracefully, the University has a responsibility to protect the welfare of its students and its own reputation.'

As for that petition mentioned by Falkenstein, many of the "reasons for signing" indicate that many Jewish students at the University of Sydney have long felt harassed and intimidated by the man who is its focus.

See and sign the petition here

Update: Carrot Top revealed in my next post.

At Sydney University, Anti-Israel Lynch Mob Disrupts Colonel Kemp's Lecture (updated to include video)

Breaking news here in Australia: before any mention of  Israel or Palestine was uttered, a mob of about fifteen Israel-hating students  invaded a campus lecture hall this afternoon (it's now early evening) to disrupt an advertised talk by that heroic pro-Israel gentleman, Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of the British forces in Afghanistan.

(Scroll down for video)

As described by Glen Falkenstein, a policy analyst/staff writer at the Australia/Israel Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC), for J-Wire: 

 '.... Kemp began his talk with a brief explanation of his career and a joke about England’s cricket loss to Bangladesh on Monday. He went on to discuss non-state militant groups in Ireland and Afghanistan and the obligations of soldiers when engaging with civilians and civilian groups.

Before he could go into any detail or discuss any other issues, he was interrupted by over a dozen students bursting into the lecture hall screaming “Richard Kemp, you can’t hide, you support genocide.”

Photo credit: David Sokol/J-Wire

A demonstrator with a megaphone drowned out any attempts by the moderator to get the lecture back on track. Protestors wrestled with security guards who had asked them to leave and were then forced to remove them. Protestors stood on chairs, began to push students and shout loudly at those who objected to their behaviour.

Professor Jake Lynch, the director of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPACS) and an ardent opponent of Israel, shouted in the faces of students, including at a senior officer of the Jewish student union. He then proceeded to stand on chairs and film attendees. Lynch screamed that attempts to remove the protestors was a violent attack on freedom of speech by security guards. When another academic suggested that he ask a question, Lynch responded that was not what this is about, only later opting to ask a question when invited by the Colonel.

Photo credit: David Sokol/J-Wire

One student commented that Kemp “hadn’t even mentioned Israel or Palestine” in the time he had to talk. Another student mentioned that she did not have strong views on either side of this issue, was studying international relations and had come expecting a talk, not an ambush.

After about 20 minutes of shouting, the protestors were finally removed from the hall, having objected loudly to their treatment by the security guards and some others present. Kemp, resuming as if nothing had happened, continued to speak on engagement with non-civilian groups in armed conflict. Concluding his talk, Kemp briefly addressed what he termed a “commercial break.”

“This protest was about my perspective on the IDF… I was in Israel during the 2014 summer conflict and I do believe that the IDF in their attack on Hamas in Gaza… were doing everything they could to protect civilians… People have told me I am wrong, but no one has told me what more steps Israel could take to minimize civilian casualties.” '

Glen Falkenstein adds that Jewish historian Professor Suzanne Rutland, of Sydney University, who attended the lecture, told him in an interview:

'I feel that the demonstration really showed clearly that the anti-Israel group speaks in slogans without any sort of understanding of the intricacies of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and without any sort of acknowledgement that when they stand there chanting, “Free Palestine,” what they mean is the dismantling of the Zionist entity which means genocide against Israel’s Jewish population.

Accusing Israel of committing genocide has no academic basis whatsoever; they even said the Colonel (Kemp) was responsible for genocide. I strongly support legitimate criticism and when we teach about Israel we try to present a critical, balanced voice which is part of academic learning.

 What I think the demonstration represented was the struggle faced by myself and others on campus who are opposed to Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions. While we try to follow the rules of polite debate, the BDS supporters will often not allow an alternative voice and this is what happened during the lecture.

 Given the anti-Israel bias on campus we were grateful Dr Gil Merom agreed to chair the function and advertise it to his students.'

And Peter Wertheim, Executive Director of the ECAJ, told JWire: 

“The attempt by about 15 students and academics to shout down and censor a public lecture at the University of Sydney by Col Richard Kemp, an internationally renowned, much-decorated expert on military and security affairs, is an utter disgrace.

 Their attempts to bully campus security personnel who restored order was also shameful.  These  are the same people who have on numerous occasions invoked the principle of academic freedom to justify their engagement in political advocacy on campus.

Their hypocrisy is now obvious.  For them, academic freedom does not apply to views they disagree with.   They are cowards who are afraid of the truth.

Fortunately, the lecture was resumed after a 15 minute disruption and Richard Kemp’s presentation was so compelling that even academics who had participated in the earlier protest asked him questions and were given comprehensive answers.

The ECAJ is proud to have facilitated the lecture.”

[Emphasis added]

Here's a video (hat tip: Ian):

A jewel of an item from The Australian given on Shirlee Finn's piece here

See also here

P.S. Lynch in action last month:

BDSer Jake Lynch Deserves A "Red Card" Targeted Israeli Academic Tells Newspaper

Good onya, Aussies!

It was reported  in yesterday's Higher Education pages of The Australian newspaper that Israeli political scientist Professor Dan Avnon, who has just taken up a Sir Zelman Cowen scholarship at Sydney University’s Institute for Democracy and Human Rights, has scathingly criticised the Centre's head, BDSer Professor Jake Lynch, who had earlier attempted to deny a fellowship to Avnon on the grounds of his Israeli nationality.

In the course of an exclusive interview with the newspaper, Avnon said

'he believed Professor Lynch deserves a “red card” for refusing to sponsor him because the Sydney academic supported the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel. “The fact that academics at the University of Sydney have rallied to my cause doesn’t diminish the severity of Lynch’s attempt to boycott me as a Jewish Israeli academic,” Professor Avnon said....

He said Professor Lynch deserved to be sanctioned for boycotting him, describing it as against the principles of academic freedom and exchange, and ignoring the work he had done to try to achieve a degree of understanding between young Jews and Arabs.'

Avnon noted the

'warm welcome by Sydney University academics appalled at Professor Lynch’s actions, along with ordinary Australians who had written emails of support.

“The Australians have been a light unto the nations,” Professor Avnon said, using the classical expression from the Book of Isaiah....'

The full report (entitled, if you're googling, "Boycotted Israeli embraced by other fellows") is behind a paywall here

The Lynch Mob Goes Gallic: "Nous souhaitons vous communiquer...notre soutien au Pr. Jake Lynch"

My previous post concerns a despicable victory for the loathsome academic boycott of Israel in America, and now, I learn, Sydney's BDS-promoting Professor Jake Lynch has a French fan club.

Here, in translation, is a billet doux in his honour, sent by a bunch of Israel-bashing "intellectuels, enseignants et chercheurs français" to the Australian Ambassador to France:

"We, French teachers, academics, researchers and intellectuals, wish to inform you of our support for Prof. Jake Lynch (of Sydney University), who has been subjected to legal proceedings by Israel, for refusing to collaborate with the Israeli occupier.

The lack of sanctions against Israel at government level to enforce international law and stop the Israeli occupation and colonisation, leads responsible citizens of every country to support the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) campaign, demanded by the Palestinian civil society.

Any self-respecting intellectual has even more moral duties in this domain, inasmuch as she/he has the potential for knowledge and reflection, allowing her/him to act for the defence of Human Rights and against barbarism.

We are pleased that no Australian organisation or institution joined in these slanderous attacks launched by Israel against Prof. Jake Lynch, Director of Sydney University’s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPACS).

Incidentally, these attacks deny the freedom of expression and opinion to an academic all the more respected because he has been acting as did before him the men and women who made possible the abolition of segregation in the United States, during the African American struggle for black civil rights, and in South Africa during Apartheid.

Reminder : In 2009, Professor Lynch wrote to the Australian university authorities, asking them to stop collaborating with the Technion University of Haifa and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, because of the systematic oppression of the Palestinian people, against which these universities have never protested, despite the fact that the Palestinian academics are the direct victims.

In 2012, Professor Lynch refused the permission to use his name on an application under the Sir Zelman Cowen fellowship program. He refused to sponsor Professor Don Avon of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem which is heavily involved in occupation and colonisation.

For example, this university did not hesitate to extend its campus on Mount Scopus, by stealing Palestinian lands. Furthermore, it supported the students who took part in the massacre of the Gaza population during the 2008-2009 “Cast Lead” operation. It is also involved with the Army Command College and collaborates widely with Israeli arms industries.

It is therefore clear that Prof. Jake Lynch who is perfectly entitled to choose whom he should sponsor, is not guilty of any “discrimination” (one must cease to reverse roles), and that the complaint lodged by the Israeli law firm Shurat HaDin at the Australian Federal Tribunal, is simply an attempt at intimidation. It is to be noted that Prof. Dan Avnon is not a complainant in this case !

Jake Lynch has already received the support of nearly 2,000 intellectuals and academics throughout the world.

As French intellectuals, teachers and researchers, we too were anxious to tell you about our support and our respect for Prof. Jake Lynch."

Read more, and see pictures of a Parisian rally in support of Lynch, here

From an article in the Australian Jewish News earlier this month by academic and B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation chairman Dr Dvir Abramovich: