Against scholasticide in Gaza

• Published date: 06 May 2024
• Publication title: Mail & Guardian: Web Edition Articles (Johannesburg, South Africa)

What is to be done to stop this genocidal war on Gaza and the accompanying decimation of education? What is the role of educational institutions, scholars and staff here in South Africa as we witness this scholasticide and educide? And, what is our role when we are confronted with knowledge about academic collaborations not only with individual academics with contractual research agreements with Israeli universities, but also with members of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF)? Conscientious people around the world are trying to find answers to the first question. The second has been on the minds of educationists and young people horrified by the educide in Gaza. Many of us at the University of Cape Town especially faced the last question — late last year — when an article was published identifying UCT as the African university with the biggest number of collaborations with Israeli academics

The treatment of Palestinian people and the destruction of their country and way of life is arguably the longest, most persistent, visible and ongoing colonial occupation of our time. From the time of the Balfour Declaration, through to the 2023-24 ground invasion of Gaza, there have been more than 200 United Nations resolutions related to Palestine, most highlighting the plight of Palestinian refugees, the illegality of Israeli settlements in Gaza and West Bank; the war crimes committed by the IDFe and calls for peace and humanitarian aid. As we academics from multiple faculties, of different racial backgrounds and faiths grappled with this history, the unfolding atrocities in Gaza and new knowledge about ongoing research collaborations in our university, we turned to calls from Palestinian civil society, opinions of leading South African legal scholars and, of course, drew wisdom from South Africa's own anti-apartheid struggle.

For two decades, Palestinian civil society has advocated for "a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions for their deep and persistent complicity in Israel's denial of Palestinian rights that are stipulated in International law". Such an institutional boycott does not constitute cancelation of, non-cooperation with or discrimination against individuals due to views they might hold or identity (race, religion, caste, class, gender or citizenship) they might embody. It does however call for non-cooperation and even boycott in academic, research or development projects sponsored by Israel, complicit Israeli institutions, lobby groups or...