Masked pro-Palestine protesters wearing keffiyehs staged a takeover of the office of Steven Prawer, a Jewish professor at the University of Melbourne (UMelb), Australia. The protesters, part of the group University of Melbourne for Palestine, posted pictures and videos of the invasion on Instagram, showing them chanting and covering Prawer’s office door with pro-Palestine stickers and signs.
The protesters demanded the University cut ties with Israeli universities due to Prawer’s academic connection to Hebrew University of Jerusalem and collaboration with Israeli research institutes. The incident led to the university calling the police, with Vice Chancellor Duncan Maskell denouncing the behavior as unacceptable.
The protest highlighted ongoing tensions regarding Israel-Palestine relations, with calls for action against antisemitism and harassment of Jewish academics. Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson condemned the incident on radio, emphasizing the need to address antisemitism in Australian universities.