Ramifications of a UCT boycott of Israel would be disasterous
21 November 2019
This Friday, the UCT Senate will once again meet to discuss the UCT Academic Freedom Committee (AFC) motion to impose an academic boycott against Israel. This is an initiative of the Palestine Solidarity Forum at UCT and is linked with the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions against Israel (BDS) movement.
The South African Jewish Board of Deputies, the democratically elected organisation that formally represents the overwhelming majority of Jews, categorically rejects this proposal and cautions that should it be passed, it would have devastating consequences for UCT and for all South Africans.
A boycott by UCT against Israel would trample the bedrock values of academic freedom upon which every credible institution of higher learning is necessarily founded. It would further deprive students of access to significant international viewpoints and curb research that has potential to create a better life for poor and historically disadvantaged South Africans. SA universities should be leading institutions when it comes to such engagement because of their status, position and expertise. As boycotts against Israel have been roundly rejected the world over, an institutional boycott would seriously damage UCT’s reputation in global academic circles.
Where boycotts for Israel have been called, there have been resultant antisemitic incidences and the very call for them has resulted in Jewish students feeling alienated and unwelcome. In fact, the boycott campaign at UCT has been characterised by gross procedural unfairness against the SA Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS), which has strenuously campaigned against the initiative. Time and again, SAUJS has found itself side-lined, denied an equal opportunity to present its case, left in the dark about crucial upcoming developments and in general placed at a serious disadvantage vis-à-vis the boycott lobby. The BDS on campus have further impersonated SAUJS students to fool people into thinking that they represent an official Jewish body.