Suit In Australia Invokes Racial Discrimination Act Against Boycott of Israeli Academics

In Australia, Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center last month filed a lawsuit under  Australia’s 1975 Racial Discrimination Act against Jake Lynch, director of the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Sydney.  As reported by Haaretz yesterday, the suit claims that Lynch's invocation of the anti-Israeli "Boycott/ Divestment/ Sanctions" movement in refusing to sponsor Hebrew University academic Dan Avnon for a fellowship in Australia violates the statute's ban on national origin discrimination.  This is the first time that the anti-discrimination statute has been invoked against the BDS Movement, which includes boycotts of Israeli academics in protest of Israeli policy regarding Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The suit was filed after mediation at the Australian Human Rights Commission failed several month ago.