On Campus

South African school ends ties with Israeli university

Ben-Gurion University accused of being complicit in oppression of Palestinians

The University of Johannesburg, in South Africa, has become the first institution to cut ties with an Israeli university. A 25 year relationship with Ben-Gurion University was severed after after the UJ’s senate debated the question for two hours on Wednesday. In a secret ballot 60 per cent of senators voted for the academic boycott, though professors will still be permitted to retain ties with Ben-Gurion on an individual basis. The move follows a petition, signed by more than 400 South Africans, to end formal ties over concerns that Israeli universities are complicit in military action taken against Palestinians. One of the signatories to the petition was Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who argued recently that “Israeli universities are an intimate part of the Israeli regime, by active choice.”

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