Rachel Corrie, an American Palestine-solidarity activist, was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer twenty years ago this month. She was murdered by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) while attempting to defend a Palestinian home from demolition in Rafah, a city in the blockaded Gaza Strip. Samir Nazrallah, whose home Corrie was trying to protect, told Al-Monitor: “I was watching what was happening through a hole in the house’s wall. I remember that the driver pulled out the soil from under Rachel’s feet, which made her lose balance, and then, when she fell, he ran over her”.

Staff at Sydney University struck for 24 hours on 17 August. It was the fourth day of strike action called by the National Tertiary Education Union this year. The major entrances to the Camperdown campus, as well as the Conservatorium of Music, were picketed by staff and students. Once again, the university was a ghost town.