Minister Nzimande condemns the decision of the Senate of Stellenbosch University on the Palestine-Israel conflict
6 May 2024
The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Professor Blade Nzimande has learned with utter dismay and disbelief of the decision by the Senate of Stellenbosch University held on Tuesday, 30 April 2024, where it voted against a motion on ‘Genocide and Destruction of Scholarship and Education in Gaza.’
In its text, the draft motion calls for among others, “an immediate ceasefire and the cessation on attacks on civilians in Gaza and Israel, the passage of humanitarian aid, the return of all captives including the safe return of hostages captured by Hamas.”
The draft motion also calls for “the condemnation of the destruction of the education sector in Gaza and the massive scale of killing of teachers and university staff in the current war and further expressed concern and opposition to any attempts to curtail academic freedom by labelling criticism of Israel or Zionist policies as antisemitism.”
The Senate rejected this progressive draft motion by a vote of 101 against 80, with 18 abstentions. This decision by the Senate is both insensitive, blatantly racist and fails to appreciate that, at stake here, is a matter of fundamental human rights- the genocide and mass murder of Palestinians.