Dear Supporters,
This Nakba Day (May 15th), we’re calling on the University of Melbourne community to stand against the University’s complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Join us at 12:30pm on South Lawn for a rally demanding real accountability and justice.
Why We’re Rallying
Nakba Day commemorates the violent expulsion of over 750,000 Palestinians in 1948–49 from their ancestral homelands — and it reminds us of the ongoing dispossession, apartheid, and genocide carried out by the Israeli settler-colonial regime.
The University of Melbourne is far from neutral. It is complicit through:
• Research ties with weapons manufacturers arming Israel, including Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, and Boeing.
• A partnership with Hebrew University, which is partially built in illegally occupied East Jerusalem.
What Happened Last Year
On Nakba Day 2024, students staged a peaceful sit-in at Mahmoud’s Hall (formerly Arts West) to honour Mahmoud Alnaouq, a prospective University of Melbourne student who was martyred in Gaza on October 22, 2023.
In retaliation, the University used precise Wi-Fi tracking to identify and discipline 20 students for participating. This mass surveillance was condemned by a number of domestic human rights organisations and is currently being investigated by the Victorian Office of the Information Commissioner.
Shockingly, the University recently formalised this surveillance power through new Wi-Fi terms and conditions, allowing tracking of students and staff for anything deemed “antisocial” or in breach of new anti-protest policies — including a total ban on indoor protest.
What’s Happening Now
Three students are currently facing misconduct investigations for a peaceful sit-in at Prof. Steven Prawer's office — protesting his role in collaborative research with Hebrew University. The University’s repression of protest and collaboration with Israeli institutions cannot be ignored.
Our Three Demands
On May 15, we are calling on the University of Melbourne to:
1. Drop all misconduct investigations against student protesters.
2. Cut all ties with Hebrew University and institutions complicit in occupation.
3. Remove Mark Leibler from the University Council.
Mark Leibler is arguably the most powerful Zionist lobbyist in Australian history. As head of Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council and former leader of the Zionist Federation of Australia, his presence on the University Council blocks any chance of University divestment. In 2024, he was awarded the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honour for his staunch support of Israeli apartheid.
Leibler must go.
Join us this Nakba Day — May 15th, 12:30pm, South Lawn.
Let’s make it clear: the University of Melbourne will be held accountable.
In solidarity,
UM4P
from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free 🇵🇸