International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor, has welcomed the growing international movement of student activism in support of justice for the people of Palestine.
"We are also buoyed by the growing mobilisation on college campuses across the world in support of the just cause for freedom and justice of the people of Palestine," the Minister said on Wednesday.
She was speaking at the second Shireen Abu Akleh Memorial Lecture at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). Abu Akleh, a distinguished Palestinian-American journalist, served as a reporter for Al Jazeera. She was fatally shot in May 2022 by an Israeli soldier while reporting on a raid at the Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The lecture, organised by the Faculty of Humanities at UJ, centred on the role of academic institutions during periods of genocide.
Pandor spoke at length about student protesters opposed to Israel's war in Gaza, who have been camping out at the Columbia University campus since mid-April, which has inspired many other students worldwide.
The protesters are calling on the university to dissociate from companies profiting from the Israel-Gaza war.
"Columbia was the first US university to divest from apartheid South Africa," Pandor recalled.
The Minister acknowledged Princeton University faculty and staff members, who have affirmed their solidarity with and support for Columbia University and Barnard College students.
Pandor also recognised Yale University, the University of Minnesota, New York University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for recently joining the pro-Palestinian movement.
"We also hope that this will spur more vocal support from our university administrators, some of whom have remained silent," she said.
The Minister referred to the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of the Western Cape (UWC), both of which released official statements advocating for a ceasefire and prompt humanitarian aid to Gaza.
"The UCT Senate has resolved that no UCT academic should collaborate with any academic on any research project if they are identified with the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). The majority in the Senate voted in favour of supporting Palestinian academics and the right to have debates on Zionism without being accused of antisemitism."
Stellenbosch University Senate members, Pandor said, have called for an end to the brutal and barbaric destruction of Gaza, saying that, "no crimes can justify genocidal actions in retaliation".
"Unfortunately, the Senate did not pass a resolution on the Israel-Palestine crisis on the Genocide and Destruction of Scholarship and Education in Gaza, as the majority of Senate members did not agree to it."
The Minister said one of the strongest statements was one from the University of Fort Hare, demanding an immediate ceasefire to be enforced by the United Nations (UN), along with the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
"The university has expressed its support for our government's call for the International Criminal Court to investigate international war crimes committed by Israel."
Meanwhile, Pandor said Fort Hare has also committed not to pursue any institutional links with Israeli institutions, as these have played a key role in supporting settler colonial oppression and apartheid, and have been complicit in grave violations of human rights.
"The university called for the immediate release of Palestinian academic staff and students, who are being held in terms of Israeli apartheid legislation and violation of international law.
"We applaud Fort Hare for the strong stand it has taken, and our other universities that continue to express solidarity with Palestinian universities, scholars and students," Pandor said.
Gaza's schools and universities
Pandor referenced the UN Human Rights Office report, which says: "Given that over 80% of schools in Gaza are damaged or destroyed, one might reasonably question whether there is a deliberate attempt to thoroughly dismantle the Palestinian education system, a phenomenon termed 'scholasticide' -- the systematic eradication of education by arresting, detaining, or killing educators, students, and staff, and by destroying educational facilities."
Pandor said since October last year, more than 5 479 students, 261 teachers and 95 university professors had been killed in Gaza, and over 7 819 students and 756 teachers have been injured.
In addition, about 60% of educational facilities, including 13 public libraries, have been damaged or destroyed, and at least 625 000 primary and secondary school students and over 100 000 college and university students in Gaza have no access to education.
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Meanwhile, Pandor said the IDF has damaged or destroyed nine out of every 10 schools, at least 65 of which were UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees-run facilities.
In addition, Pandor said between October 2023 and January this year, the IDF bombed all the universities in Gaza.
The Israeli military demolished Israa University, the last remaining university in Gaza on 17 January.
"Attacks on education are often a key indicator of State intolerance of views that do not reflect State thinking. They should not be tolerated," the Minister said.
She described universities as a bedrock of knowledge and truth, which require freedom to do the essential work of knowledge generation and innovation.
"World universities must keep a watching brief on the reconstruction of Palestine and insist that the programme includes the reconstruction of education at all levels," Pandor said.
