Sadly, the Stellenbosch University Senate today voted against a motion condemning genocide in Gaza. At least we debated the motion submitted by Progressive Professors, and it was defeated by a relatively small margin. Nevertheless, it was a vote against a motion condemning Zionist apartheid and genocide. One very prominent Professor with a human rights record suggested the debate get postponed because it was the second day of passover and therefore Jews were not present. I sent this email to this person: “While I appreciate your concern about Jews not being present I thought it would be interesting for you to note that myself and quite a number of other Jews were present. I am Jewish, and fully supported the motion [and, I should have added, the ICJ decision]. The reason I supported the motion was that Senate has taken a position condemning apartheid before because that is a moral position, not about taking a ‘political side’ in a conflict. The same applies to Gaza for reasons you so eloquently articulated. But one issue I need to raise: I do not think this issue is about Jews being present or not just because Israel talks in the name of Jews. Just like Apartheid was the cause of oppression of black AND white people in different ways, the Zionist state is the cause of oppression of Palestinians AND Jews. Jews must be against Zionism and the Israeli state just as vehemently as whites should have been opposed to Apartheid.” The motion, in that sense, has nothing to do with Jews; it was about voicing opposition to genocide perpetrated by Zionists who act in the name of Jews. Saying we can only discuss this if Jewish colleagues are present is like saying we can only discuss Apartheid if whites are present. Just like the Apartheid state cannot be seen as speaking for all white people, so too one cannot say the Israeli state speaks for all Jews. Young Jews all over the world are protesting against genocide in Gaza. In doing so, they discover what empathy means, and therefore what it means to be fully human. They also correctly protest against the atrocities of 7 October. But this is not a war as some of my colleagues argued, it is genocide. Nor is it “just another conflict going on worldwide”, as others argued. It is genocide rooted in what we South Africans all know so well – namely, what we called apartheid and all over the world this term is now used to describe the Israel/Palestine imbroglio. This is why this matter is of special concern to all South Africans. Every time the IDF bombs a neighbourhood or tortures someone’s parents in front of their children or a child is detained, so dozens more supporters of Hamas are created. There is no way the IDF can defeat an idea by replicating on a daily basis the number of people who have nothing to lose and therefore are willing to die for Hamas and the liberation of Palestine. In this sense, the IDF is the most effective recruiting agency for Hamas. Why does this make any strategic sense to anyone?
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