Monday, 7 March 2011
We, the students of the UJ SRC, who acknowledge and often live with the scars of a racist Apartheid history, see it both as our responsibility and part of our humanity to stand in solidarity with those facing oppression worldwide. We are particularly concerned and angered by violations of the right to education internationally.
Israel directly attacks the educational institutions of Palestinian students and their right to education. The illegal Israeli occupation and the structures of a racist Israeli state further damage their opportunities for quality education.
We know however that Palestinian students struggle and are determined to obtain education in the most trying of circumstances. As was the case in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, we see
international solidarity as key in overcoming Israeli apartheid.
international solidarity as key in overcoming Israeli apartheid.
In light of this, a decision by the University of Johannesburg (UJ) to terminate its relationship with Ben-Gurion University (in fact, as required by UJ Senate's 29th of September 2010 resolution) would be a landmark in the international movement to boycott Israeli institutions until such time as the state abides by international law.
As South African students, we join UJ academics, workers and more than 300 other South African academics in supporting the termination of the UJ-BGU agreement on the 01st of April 2011. We also rally with a growing number of academics and students worldwide in calling on all universities to boycott Israeli institutions complicit in human rights violations.
ENDORSED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG (APK CAMPUS) STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL
Simphiwe Gada
UJ SRC Chairperson
UJ SRC Chairperson