City of Sydney backs boycott of Israel, in bid to add pressure for ceasefire
The City of Sydney council will consider scrapping its contracts with companies linked to Israel, including a printing agreement with Hewlett Packard, after Lord Mayor Clover Moore supported a renewed push from the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.
Moore and her independent team backed a Greens motion on Monday night calling for the state’s wealthiest council to audit divestments that had or could be made to ensure it did not invest in or profit from human rights violations, “including the illegal occupation of the settlements in Palestinian territories, and the supply of weapons”.
“Now more than ever, we must use our voices to call for peace”: Lord Mayor Clover Moore.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
This should include both investments and supplier contracts, the motion stipulated, and explicitly sought to review financial arrangements with companies that might be involved in “human rights abuses in Palestine”.
It did not commit the council to any immediate boycott or divestment. Further action arising from that report – due within three months – would be at the discretion of councillors.
Moore – who will seek a sixth term in September – said the City of Sydney had consistently advocated for a lasting ceasefire, the safe return of hostages and negotiations aimed at a just and enduring peace.
“Leaders must strive to break the cycle of violence in this region and ensure that neither Israelis nor Palestinians live in fear and at risk of harm or death. Now more than ever, we must use our voices to call for peace,” she said.
“If the City’s voice in this campaign can put additional pressure towards a ceasefire and an end to the humanitarian crisis, then I think we should carefully review our investments and suppliers.”
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry accused the council of a “spectacularly inept” foray into foreign affairs.
“It has acknowledged the terrorist atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel last year but has decided to punish, not the perpetrators, but the victims for having the temerity to defend themselves,” said co-chief executive Peter Wertheim.
“A body that struggles to achieve competence in collecting the garbage and fixing potholes might be over-reaching itself just a tad in its pretensions to forge peace in the Middle East.”
Moore’s council had earlier approved a $25,000 donation to the Australian Red Cross Society in support of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the recipients of the 2024 Sydney Peace Prize, to directly assist people in the region. “Like many in our community, I am appalled and sickened about the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” Moore said.
The boycott, divestment and sanctions motion was led by the Greens’ Sylvie Ellsmore.Credit: Jessica Hromas
The BDS motion was moved by Greens councillor Sylvie Ellsmore and supported by Moore’s team, Labor councillor Linda Scott and independent Yvonne Weldon. Pro-Palestine supporters who had packed the public gallery applauded when it passed.
Liberal councillors Shauna Jarrett and Lyndon Gannon were the only two to vote against the proposal. “It was a completely unnecessary and divisive thing to do. Antisemitism in the community is going through the roof,” Gannon said.
One of the suppliers specified by Ellsmore in her motion was Hewlett Packard, with which the City of Sydney has a major printing contract. HP has long been targeted by the BDS movement, accused of providing services and technology used by the Israeli army and police force.
In a 2021 statement, the company said it did not take sides in political disputes. “HP operates in strict accordance with all applicable laws and regulations, implements rigorous policies to respect human rights in every market where we operate, and contractually requires business partners to comply with these same standards. Any suggestion to the contrary is unfounded,” it said.
The BDS movement is gathering momentum amid Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, 13 years after the then Marrickville Council adopted it as policy, then reversed course several months later following a public backlash and state government pressure.
More than 100 people attended a meeting organised by pro-Palestine activists on Sunday to discuss a BDS motion expected to be put to the Inner West Council by the Greens’ Dylan Griffiths. He said the meeting was a reminder that a primary role of left-wing councillors was to connect with social movements for change.
Greens policy is to support boycotts where they are “strategic and human rights aligned”, and where the corporation is “directly profiting from or complicit in the violation of Palestinian human rights”.
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