STATEMENT BY SOUTH AFRICAN UNION OF STUDENTS (SAUS)
Welcoming vote by the University of Cape Town’s Senate in favor of academic boycott of Israel
The South African Union of Students (SAUS), representing all student representative bodies in South Africa, welcomes the decision taken by the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Senate “in favour of a proposal for UCT to not enter into any formal relationships with Israeli academic institutions operating in the occupied Palestinian territories as well as other Israeli academic institutions enabling gross human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories.” The decision was passed in the Senate with 62 in favor, 43 against and 10 abstentions.
UCT joins other universities, academic bodies and student governments the world over who are adopting measures in support of the academic boycott of Israel. In 2011 the University of Johannesburg (UJ) terminated relations with Israel’s Ben Gurion University and in 2017 Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) adopted the academic boycott of Israel. In 2014 the Minister of Higher Education called on all institutions of higher to adopt an academic boycott of Israel.
The academic boycott is well supported among South African academics – in 2011 a petition in support of the academic boycott gained unprecedented support of over 400 South African academics, including 9 South African Vice-Chancellors and Deputy Vice-Chancellors; 11 Deans and Vice Deans; 19 Heads of Department; 175 University Professors and 125 Academic Doctorates. Included in the list of supporters were some of South Africa’s leading voices and anti- apartheid stalwarts: Professors Neville Alexander, Kader Asmal, Allan Boesak, Breyten Breytenbach, John Dugard, Antjie Krog, Rashida Manjoo, Barney Pityana and Sampie Terreblanche.
In 2016 several academics pulled out of a Genocide Conference that was being hosted in Israel – among those who withdrew, to the embarrassment of the Israeli organizers, included the Vice President of the International Network of Genocide Scholars (INoGS) who hails from South Africa. Last year, following an outcry from South African civil society, seven Israelis withdrew from an academic conference at Stellenbosch University.
The BDS movement also has active backing of students with South Africa’s largest student formation, SASCO, as well as the SAUS and other organizations at institutions of higher learning having adopted the boycott of Israel and active participation in Palestine solidarity activities.
The Israeli lobby has been caught flat-footed using two baseless and tired arguments against UCT. They are suggesting that, due to this principled stance of UCT, the institution will drop in international standing and loose funding.
Firstly, following UJ’s adoption of the academic boycott, between 2011 and today, UJ has advanced to the top 2.3% of universities globally and has moved into fifth position nationally. UJ has climbed an astounding 60 places, breaking into the top 500 in the world, in between 2011 and today. In TUT’s case, following the decision to boycott Israel, TUT was ranked for the first time among the top 1 000 universities globally, and has further been ranked #9 among the top 10 universities in South Africa. It also remains the number one university of technology in Africa.
Secondly, in terms of funding, UJ has steadily increased (not decreased) its funding since its stance in support of the Palestinian boycott of Israel. For example, just three years ago UJ ran one of the biggest fundraising campaigns ever undertaken by a South African institution of higher learning and raised close to R90 million for students.
SAUS commends the students, academics, activists of the UCT PSF and all others who have for the last two years worked tirelessly on this campaign at the University of Cape Town. Indeed, international solidarity once assisted us in our liberation and so we have an obligation to stand with those who stood with us like the Palestinians, Cuban and all oppressed peoples.
22 March 2019
Published by South African Union of Students (SAUS)
Thabo Shingange
SAUS National Spokesperson +27 71 664 6858
Lwandile Mtsolo
Secretary General of SAUS
saus.secretariat@gmail.com
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