Jasmine Al-Rawi, an active member of the Students for Palestine, has been at the forefront of organizing demonstrations against Israel’s military actions in Gaza since the offensive began on October 7, 2023.

The referendum’s initial proposal urged a halt to any weapon sales to Israel by Australia and its corporate entities. The second motion sought to pressure Australian universities to sever ties with arms manufacturers, thereby ending their “complicity with Israel’s genocide.”

Reflecting on historical context, it’s noteworthy that student referendums from fifty years ago unfolded under quite different circumstances.

Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is emerging as the next key struggle in the minds of the far left — who are gradually gaining support among university student unions but not more widely.

Joe Gersh, president of the Australian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) at the time, condemns the motions for their “traumatic effect on Jewish students”.

The Australian Union of Students was officially dissolved in late 1984, in part due to a loss of campus affiliation following the student referendums and factional infighting. The outgoing president was future prime minister Julia Gillard.

Australia under pressure over F-35 links

“If components that are being manufactured here in Australia are finding their way into F-35 aircraft being used by Israel to bomb the hell out of Gaza, we share responsibility,” he said.

Independent media outlet Declassified Australia has reported that leaked documents show at least 68 shipments of F-35 parts were sent directly from Australia to Israel between October 2023 and September 2025.

In a statement, Lockheed Martin, the main F-35 contractor, said: “Details regarding the shipment of F-35 components are best addressed by the US government.”

Military exports and Australian universities

“We think that is a crime.”

But some students say the partnership deepens the university’s ties to a company that — beyond academic collaboration — plays a key role in the global supply chain of weapons.

Thales Australia did not respond to a request for comment before publication.

Universities listed as participants include Macquarie University, the University of Queensland, the University of Sydney, the University of Western Australia and the Australian National University.

Students demand accountability

“Lockheed Martin is not a current partner — major or otherwise — of the University,” a spokesperson for Macquarie University said.

Thales and Lockheed Martin are both major partners of the Australian Defence Force.

Award-winning journalist and author Antony Loewenstein, who has long investigated Israeli weapons and surveillance technologies, condemned the RMIT-Elbit partnership earlier that year, saying: “If you partner, as a state or a university, with a company like Elbit, you have blood on your hands because the record of Elbit in Israel-Palestine … is so damned clear”.

‘We’re just doing research’

“But it’s difficult when you break it down to the level of the individual or even at the level of one research institution — the contribution can seem marginal or even ethically good in some instances.”

“There’s a lot of technologies that can have a civilian purpose but also have a military purpose, which I think it adds to the challenge to work out: ‘Am I involved in something that’s morally problematic?’”

“Universities determine their own research and partnership priorities in line with their governance processes, ethical frameworks and relevant government legislation and processes, ensuring decisions are made responsibly and in line with the values of the communities our universities serve.”

‘Righting a historical wrong’

“I think the history of Australian student unionism … it feels like we are righting a historical wrong in Australia by correcting the record with the history of the failed student referendums on Palestine in the past.”

“I’m for a national student union that takes up every question of oppression, every question of injustice.”