- The Guardian
- Issue #2181
“Barbarism is not potent enough to describe this depravity,” said Jason Hickel, an eco-socialist activist and commentator. Hickel was referring to the brutal murder by Israeli soldiers of a 14-year-old Palestinian boy in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. The incident happened last November but was only just reported by the BBC.
The boy was shot multiple times, then prevented from receiving medical help. “They didn’t just stand around and watch him bleed to death,” Hickel wrote. “They actively prevented two ambulances from reaching him.”
Now it is the turn of the children of Iran after Israel and the US launched their brutal and illegal attack on Iran. Israel has officially killed at least 50,000 Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip since it embarked on its genocide there beginning on 8 October 2023, along with continued killings in the occupied West Bank. The real number is likely far higher given the challenges of finding and counting bodies, many of whom are still buried under rubble or were incinerated beyond identification.
The only country in the region that does have nuclear weapons, the West’s ally, the hyper-aggressor, is Israel. Israel occupies a unique position of “nuclear ambiguity” inside the UN. It is not obliged to confirm nor deny whether it possesses nuclear weapons. This is despite the fact that the UN general assembly passes a resolution every year calling on Israel to disarm.
PARASITE OF THE WEEK: what passes for leadership at Australian universities. A landmark study into racism at Australian universities has exposed appalling levels of discrimination in university workplaces, with the vast majority of staff who complained about racism dissatisfied with how universities handled their concerns.
The Australian Human Rights Commission’s Respect at Uni study – the first comprehensive national investigation of its kind – found that one in five academic staff experienced direct racism at their workplace, with racism most commonly occurring in work meetings and shared staff spaces. National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) President Dr Alison Barnes said the findings were deeply disturbing for staff and students. “This report shines a harsh light on the racism that staff experience every single day in Australian universities,” Dr Barnes said.
When one in five academic staff report experiencing direct racism, and university leadership is implicated in nearly half of those cases, we’re seeing a systemic workplace crisis. Almost half of all staff who experienced racism reported negative impacts on their careers, with a quarter of academic staff and 22% of professional staff denied promotions they felt they deserved. More than two in three staff experienced negative mental health impacts.
“Our colleagues’ careers are being derailed, their mental health is suffering, and they’re being driven out of the sector because of racism,” Dr Barnes said.
The report exposed a catastrophic failure of university complaints systems, with only 15% of academic staff who experienced racism making a formal complaint – primarily due to fears of consequences and lack of trust in the process. Of those who complained, 80% of academic staff were dissatisfied with how universities handled their concerns.
“The complaints system is fundamentally broken with shocking consequences for students and staff,” Dr Barnes said. “When 80% of staff who complain are dissatisfied, and a third say complaining actually harmed their career, universities are failing in their most basic duty of care to their most valuable asset.”
Dr Barnes praised the important work of NTEU Victorian Division Assistant Secretary Professor Joo-Cheong Tham, who represented the union on the study’s advisory committee. “Professor Tham’s expertise and commitment helped ensure this study captured the full extent of racism in our workplaces,” Dr Barnes said. “His contribution has been invaluable in giving voice to the experiences of staff across the sector.”
The NTEU is calling for immediate action on the report’s recommendations, particularly establishing the Racism@Uni Working Group within six months.
