Sydney
– Sydney University will investigate an incident in which Associate Professor
Jake Lynch was filmed waving a five dollar bill at an elderly Jewish woman
enraged by anti-Israel protesters at a lecture.
Dr
Lynch — Director of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies — claims he was
threatening to sue the woman after she kicked him “in the meat and two veg”.
Colonel
Richard Kemp, a retired British military officer, was delivering a lecture on
the ethics of armed conflict at the university on Wednesday when several
students stormed the room and began chanting anti-Israel slogans.
Within
minutes of their entry, Associate Professor Lynch began filming the fracas.
He
was involved in a confrontation with a woman, believed to be 75 years old,
with the two taunting each other.
Mr
Lynch then reached into his breast pocket, pulled out a $5 note and began
waving it in the woman’s face.
Dr
Lynch said his actions were intended to represent a threat to sue the woman.
In
a video viewed by The Saturday Telegraph, Dr Lynch can be seen arguing with the
woman before she throws out her right arm at him.
Colonel
Kemp, who witnessed the incident, said in his opinion the actions of associate
professor Lynch suggested an anti-Jewish prejudice.
But
Dr Lynch said: “Any suggestion that I am in any way antisemitic is incorrect
and unfounded.”
A
Sydney University spokeswoman said in a statement last night: “The University
is deeply concerned about events surrounding a protest on campus and has
commenced an investigation into the incidents.”
