Pandor urges universities to cut ties with Israel

Pandor urges universities to cut ties with Israel

Former minister of international relations and cooperation Naledi Pandor has called on local universities to cut ties with Israeli institutions amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

Naledi Pandor
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Pandor, who has retired from active politics, has been praised for her tough stance on Israel’s conduct in the war between Israel and Hamas. 


The former diplomat was speaking at a Rhodes University lecture on Palestine on Monday.


The University of Western Cape, Nelson Mandela University and the University of Cape Town are some of the tertiary institutions that have cut ties with Israeli academic institutions in solidarity with the people of Palestine.


"It is our view that civil society organs have a critical role to play in creating global rejection of the Israel oppression. We need academic boycotts,” Pandor told delegates. 


"We need an end to research links with Israel, particularly given the reality of the attacks on institutions of learning and knowledge. It is astounding that many in the academic community seem untouched by the direct bombing of all universities in Gaza. 


"The killing of hundred academics and teachers, the bombing of all libraries and all archives. We in South Africa tolerated far less than academics South Africa, and we still instituted strict boycotts when we were fighting apartheid. This is what we would never have accepted as South Africans,” she added


Pandor also denied accusations of being antisemitic, saying she is only advocating for freedom for the people of Palestine.


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