By Necva Tastan
ISTANBUL (AA) – The administration of Melbourne University in Australia is facing backlash for serving "general misconduct" notices to pro-Palestinian students, as a group that participated in protests against Israel's "genocidal war" in Gaza questioned the university's commitment to combating racism and Islamophobia on campus.
An online petition has also been launched, with netizens openly criticizing Melbourne University authorities for warning pro-Palestinian students for their stance against the ongoing Israeli military attacks, which have killed over 37,000 people, the majority of whom are women and children.
At least 19 pro-Palestine student protesters received "general misconduct" notices from the university administration, according to a statement posted on X by the varsity group Unimelb.
"Such politicized allegations against student protesters are the first they've seen in over 18 years," the group said.
The university also prohibited public protests on campus, citing evidence such as "CCTV footage and location tracking through students' use of university WiFi," the statement said.
The group accused the university administration of ignoring Islamophobic incidents on campus.
The evidence cited in the university's misconduct notices includes precise WiFi usage times, locations, and associated student identifiers, used to identify and accuse specific students of “misconduct.”
"The University's 'anti-racism policy' is laughable given its choice to use advanced technology to identify and intimidate pro-Palestinian student protesters," it added.
"Our cause is justified and the students, as always, are on the right side of history," it pointed out.
Meanwhile, an online petition claims that authorities at the same university have issued stern warnings to students and staff who participated in peaceful pro-Palestine demonstrations.
"We, the community, condemn these threats and intimidation made by the University of Melbourne," the petition read.
“These brave students and staff, who have been peacefully calling for disclosure and divestment of the University of Melbourne’s ties to weapons manufacturers supplying Israeli Occupation Forces,” it added.
The protesters, facing the prospect of academic failure, expulsion, and substantial debt due to potential sanctions, demanded that the university cut all ties with Israeli occupation-related suppliers.
“We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with pro-Palestinian students and staff who continue to do everything in their power to demand the University of Melbourne cut all ties with weapons manufacturers supplying Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” the petition said.
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian group Hamas.
More than 37,700 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and nearly 86,400 others injured, according to local health authorities.
More than eight months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.