Why UTS Students Should Join the March 11 National Day of Action for Palestine
When asked as a child “What do you want to be when you grow up?”, did you ever answer “An accessory to warmongering and genocide”? Well, if you did, you’re in luck. UTS management have done all that they can to make that dream of yours come true.
On March 11, pro-Palestine students from across Australia will be walking out of class to put pressure on our universities to cut their ties with genocide. We'll be meeting outside the UTS Tower at 1:15pm to join USyd students and march to Town Hall.
Here’s why you should attend:
Since October 2025, Israel has violated the “ceasefire” around 1,620 times, killing at least 618 Palestinians and injuring a further 1663. In only one attack on October 29, Israel killed 109 people including 52 children. Violation of the ceasefire agreement can only be seen as Israel continuing its genocide against Palestinians.
On top of the continued violence, a ceasefire does not come close to justice for Gaza. Trump’s dystopian “Board of Peace” now reigns supreme. Over the months of so-called ceasefire, their UN-backed body has appointed war criminals, such Tony Blair and the president of the World Bank, to take Trump Gaza from an AI-created fantasy into a devastating reality.
We should be clear that this is a plan for ethnic cleansing and further displacement. It gives no power to the Palestinians to govern their lives but intends to pave over the rubble of their homes and graves with luxury hotels, a brand new military base, and a $50M FIFA stadium.
This ongoing campaign means that we all have a duty to keep up the fight for a Free Palestine.
UTS maintains a Memorandum of Understanding with Thales, a French weapons company that specialises in drone technology and supplies military clients, including the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). UTS has also partnered with Lockheed Martin, who directly supplied Israel with missiles and F-35 fighter jets used in this genocide.
This nationwide student strike is about making it clear to our universities that we won't keep quiet. We cannot accept our educational institutions being used to prop up business as usual for the warmongers who run our world.
We also now face increased repression from our governments, who wish to paint Palestine activism as divisive and a disruption to “social cohesion”, all with the aim of pushing the issue out of the public eye in order to maintain good graces with Israel.
All of this is why we need to see you there on March 11. We have to defend our right to protest for Palestine and call on our universities to end all ties to weapons companies. We'll see you there.
-