09 July 2011
The UJ Petition Committee confirms that yesterday’s signing of an individual agreement by Bhekie Mamba of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) does not violate UJ’s academic boycott of Israel. Earlier this year, UJ’s Senate voted to terminate all institutional relations with Israel’s Ben Gurion University (BGU) and affirmed the academic freedom of individual researchers by allowing them to pursue private relations.
Yesterday’s agreement, signed by an individual scientist at UJ with several other individual researchers, including one at BGU, is consistent with UJ’s "ban" on institutional relationships with Israel. The agreement, as per academic boycott guidelines, is not an institutional relationship.
UJ is the first university in the world to officially implement the academic boycott of Israel. The individual agreement signed yesterday reconfirms UJ’s historic decision to boycott Israel. UJ’s Senate
should be commended for withstanding the immense pressure put on it by the pro-Israeli lobby to reinstate the old institutional agreement.
Over a period of more than 12 months staff and students together with the UJ Petition Committee successfully campaigned for the severing of UJ’s formal institutional agreement with Israel’s BGU. The UJ Petition is supported by over 400 South African academics, including Professors John Dugard, Antjie Krog, Breyten Breytenbach, Allan Boesak, and the late Kader Asmal.
Find a copy of UJ’s official Senate Resolution on the matter at:
www.ujpetition.com/2010/10/uj-senate-resolution-29-september-2010.html
ISSUED BY DR LUKE SINWELL ON BEHALF OF THE UJ PETITION COMMITTEE
For more information:
[T] 084 211 9988
[E] ujpetition@gmail.com
[W] www.ujpetition.com
The UJ Petition Committee confirms that yesterday’s signing of an individual agreement by Bhekie Mamba of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) does not violate UJ’s academic boycott of Israel. Earlier this year, UJ’s Senate voted to terminate all institutional relations with Israel’s Ben Gurion University (BGU) and affirmed the academic freedom of individual researchers by allowing them to pursue private relations.
Yesterday’s agreement, signed by an individual scientist at UJ with several other individual researchers, including one at BGU, is consistent with UJ’s "ban" on institutional relationships with Israel. The agreement, as per academic boycott guidelines, is not an institutional relationship.
UJ is the first university in the world to officially implement the academic boycott of Israel. The individual agreement signed yesterday reconfirms UJ’s historic decision to boycott Israel. UJ’s Senate
should be commended for withstanding the immense pressure put on it by the pro-Israeli lobby to reinstate the old institutional agreement.
Over a period of more than 12 months staff and students together with the UJ Petition Committee successfully campaigned for the severing of UJ’s formal institutional agreement with Israel’s BGU. The UJ Petition is supported by over 400 South African academics, including Professors John Dugard, Antjie Krog, Breyten Breytenbach, Allan Boesak, and the late Kader Asmal.
Find a copy of UJ’s official Senate Resolution on the matter at:
www.ujpetition.com/2010/10/uj-senate-resolution-29-september-2010.html
ISSUED BY DR LUKE SINWELL ON BEHALF OF THE UJ PETITION COMMITTEE
For more information:
[T] 084 211 9988
[E] ujpetition@gmail.com
[W] www.ujpetition.com