Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande has slammed Stellenbosch University’s senate vote against a motion on Genocide and Destruction of Scholarship and Education in Gaza as “blatantly racist.”
Nzimande accused the senate of legitimising mass murder and dispossession of the oppressed people of Palestine, including that of fellow academics.
Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University Professor Willem de Villiers confirmed that its senate did not pass the resolution on the Israel-Palestine crisis following a special meeting to discuss the motion after it had been tabled in March. The proposed resolution received 80 votes for and 101 against, while 18 abstained.
The resolution detailed a call for an immediate ceasefire and the cessation of attacks on civilians in Gaza and Israel, the passage of humanitarian aid and the return of all captives, including the safe return of hostages captured by Hamas, and including the safe return of Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons.
The resolution also included the senate expressing concern and opposition to any attempts to curtail academic freedom by labelling criticism of Israel or Zionist policies as anti-Semitism and expressing support for academic colleagues in Gaza who are surviving under appalling conditions and their intention to assist in the rebuilding of the academic sector after the war.
It also urged the international community to ensure that the provision of humanitarian aid includes the restoration of the education sector in Gaza.
De Villiers said while the resolution was not passed by the majority of the senate, SU recognised that the Israel-Palestine crisis affected their community and, as such, emphasised that the institution stands firmly for the principles of peace, respect for human rights, freedom of expression, and the principles of International Humanitarian Law.
However, Nzimande said he was in utter dismay and disbelief by the senate’s decision as it amounts to a “monumental betrayal” of the sacrifices of academics like David Webster and Rick Turner whose contributions were indispensable in defeating the oppressive apartheid system.
“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.
This decision is therefore profoundly shameful and takes us back to the darkest days of apartheid. While I respect university autonomy and academic freedom, the senate must be made to understand that there is no autonomy from racism, genocide, apartheid, and violation of fundamental human rights.
“I call on all progressive members of council, alumni, the workers, and the student leadership at Stellenbosch University to condemn this morally bankrupt and profoundly racist decision by the senate,” said Nzimande.
Cape Times