Jake Lynch

Jake Lynch (born 1965) is a journalist, academic and writer, and a scholarly authority within the fields of peace journalism and peace research.^[1][2][3] He is an academic with the University of Sydney, although for 2020 he is on secondment as a Leverhulme Visiting Professor at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University, UK.^[2][1]

Lynch attended Cardiff University, where he completed a BA degree in English (First Class Honours) in 1988 and a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism Studies (Distinction) with Cardiff University in 1989.^[2] He subsequently attended City University, London, where he completed a PhD degree in 2008.^[2]

Lynch worked as a journalist for two decades,^[when?] including work with The Independent, the Sky News and with BBC News.^[4] Latterly,^[when?] he has worked in academia, and currently holds the position of Associate Professor within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Sydney University.^[2] He was formerly Director of the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies at Sydney University, and later Chair of the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at the university.^[2][5] Lynch has also previously served as Secretary-General of the International Peace Research Association,^[6] and has held visiting fellowships with the universities of Cardiff, Bristol and Johannesburg.^[7][8]

Lynch has received numerous awards, most recently the Luxembourg Peace Prize for his work in peace journalism.^[1]

Lynch has been active in human rights campaigns, in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, and in campaigns for Palestinian rights.^[9][10][11] In 2013, Shurat HaDin, an Israeli NGO, commenced legal action in the Federal Court of Australia against Lynch, alleging a breach of Australia's anti-racism laws over Lynch's active support for the BDS campaign.^[12] The case, however, was subsequently dismissed by His Honour Justice Alan Robertson, with costs in favour of Lynch.^[13][14]

In March 2015, Lynch was investigated by the University of Sydney after confronting attendees at a pro-Israel talk at the university featuring retired British Colonel and pro-Israel advocate Richard Kemp. Lynch was criticised for thrusting money in the face of Jewish students.^[15][16] One video of the incident showed him telling a woman, "this is going to cost you a lot of money", after she allegedly kicked him in the groin,^[17][18] and another video showed her throwing water at a different protester.^[19] In late April 2015, Lynch was cleared of allegations of anti-Semitism by the University of Sydney, a decision by welcomed by Palestinian advocates but criticised by Jewish groups.^[17]

• List of peace activists

• Lynch, J. (2017). Terrorism, the "Blowback" thesis and the UK media. Peace Review, 29(4), pp. 443–449.
• Lynch, J. (2017). News coverage, peacemaking and peacebuilding. In Robinson, Piers; Seib, Philip; Frohlich, Romy (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Media, Conflict and Security, (pp. 197–209). Abingdon: Routledge.
• Lynch, J. (2018) Foreword. Peace Journalism Principles and Practices, (pp. xv-xvii). New York: Routledge.
• Lynch, J. (2018). Where I stand on peace journalism and the academic boycott of Israel. Conflict and Communication, 17(1), pp. 1–4.
• Lynch, J. (2018). Peace Journalism. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication: Journalism Studies. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Lynch, J. (2019). Public Service Broadcasting and Security Issues: The Case of 'Blowback'. In Shaw, Ibrahim Seaga; Selvarajah, Senthan (eds.), Reporting Human Rights, Conflicts, and Peacebuilding: Critical and Global Perspectives, (pp. 85–101). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Hussain, S., Lynch, J. (2019). Identifying peace-oriented media strategies for deadly conflicts in Pakistan. Information Development, 35(5), pp. 703–713.
• Lynch, J. (2019). Blood on the Stone. London, United Kingdom: Unbound. (Historical Novel).