Prof. Jake Lynch Image by u. of sydney

An Israel-based group launched legal action against an Australian academic who they claim breached racial vilification laws by boycotting Israeli academics.

Prof. Jake Lynch Image by u. of sydney

Shurat HaDin, the Israel Law Center, filed the legal suit in the Federal Court of Australia this week against Jake Lynch, the director of the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Sydney.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The lawsuit focuses on Lynch’s refusal to sponsor an application for a fellowship in Australia by Dan Avnon, an Israeli academic from the Hebrew University, because of Lynch’s support of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel.

Andrew Hamilton, a Sydney-born lawyer with Shurat HaDin, took the matter to the Federal Court after mediation between the parties at the Australian Human Rights Commission failed to solve the dispute.

He alleges Lynch’s support for the BDS campaign is in breach of the 1975 Racial Discrimination Act.

Lynch argued that he had the right to refuse sponsoring Avnon because of his center’s pro-BDS stance.

In a Facebook post on the University of Sydney BDS activists page, Shurat HaDin says that it is lawful to criticize Israel’s policies. But it adds: “It is not lawful to boycott Israeli people and businesses because of disagreement with those policies. If you keep on the right side of this line you will not be prosecuted.”

Hamilton is seeking a court order requiring Lynch to apologize and desist from supporting BDS.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount