COMMENTARY

 

Is silence in the face of global injustice in the "best interests" of South African universities?

 

 

Kezia Lewins^I; Peter van Heusden^II; Nazeema Mohamed^III; Sanele Sibanda^IV; Rebecca Pointer^V; Louis Reynolds^VI; Shabbir A. Wadee^VII; Laurel Baldwin-Ragaven^VIII

^IDepartment of Sociology, School of Social Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
^IISouth African Medical Research Council Bioinformatics Unit, South African National Bioinformatics Institute, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa
^IIIIndependent Consultant and Chair of the Social, Ethics and Transformation Committee of Council, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
^IVDepartment of Jurisprudence, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
^VCentre for Science Communication, Department of Journalism, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
^VIAdvocacy Committee, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
^VIIProfessor Emeritus, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
^VIIIDepartment of Family Medicine and Primary Care, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Correspondence

 

 

---

ABSTRACT

SIGNIFICANCE:
Invited to respond, we write here not to rebut every argument advanced in the provocation piece 'Should our universities respond to geopolitical conflicts around the world?'. This would presuppose alignment with the issues raised as the only ones germane to questions of academic neutrality in the face of injustice of genocidal proportions. Rather, we probe assumptions we consider central to the ethical responsibilities of South African universities when faced with immense human suffering. Rather, we ask: what is the cost of silence to our society and academic communities if, as once beneficiaries of global outrage and action against apartheid, we now comfortably look on so as not to be seen as taking sides?

Keywords: scientists and society, academic freedom, ethical responsibilities, armed conflict, Palestine

---

 

 

In a recent Daily Maverick piece, University of Cape Town (UCT) Law Professor Pierre de Vos warned against turning discussions about "the appropriate role and function of a university in a neoliberal society, into disputes about procedures or the purpose of the decision (in the form of rationality reviews)"¹. De Vos was responding to litigation lodged by his UCT colleague against that University Council's decision in June 2024 to endorse two Senate resolutions on the Gaza conflict, challenging that institution's moral position about the role of the university in society. To us, this warning can equally apply to the short-sighted and avoidant stance outlined in the Commentary 'Should our universities respond to geopolitical conflicts around the world?'²

Public universities in South Africa have an "obligation to serve the public good"^3-5. Although the "public good" can and should be debated, whatever that constitutes surely includes an obligation by academics to align with the human rights framework contained in our Constitution's Bill of Rights⁵ and, similarly, to be guided by the aspirations of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights⁶. Within our South African context, commitment to universal human values has never been axiomatic; democracy and its attendant values of equality, freedom and dignity were hard won. Emerging from decades of a racialised educational system, former 'white' universities had direct roots in South Africa's colonial history and were at the forefront of the civilising mission that perceived and treated Indigenous inhabitants of South Africa as less than human and unworthy of the dignity endowed on white European settlers.⁷ These legacies endure. Many black colleagues within the academy actively remember what it was like to apply for ministerial permission to study at these universities; when educational exposure and opportunities for black students were separate and unequal; when differential wages for the same work were legislated based on race; and when social spaces were segregated. Further, and most egregiously, they remember when engaging with the politics of liberation was perceived as state treason, leading to the deaths of inter alia Steve Biko, Victoria and Griffiths Mxkenge, Abu Baker Asvat, Fabian and Florence Ribeiro, David Webster, Neil Aggett and others^8-11, as well as to the detention and banning of thousands of students and some university academics.

This history and ongoing struggle to restore humanity to the victims of coloniality within higher education must be borne in mind when we examine events in Palestine. In April 2024, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) warned about the "scholasticide" in Gaza, the "systemic obliteration of education through the arrest, detention or killing of teachers, students and staff, and the destruction of educational infrastructure" including the organised destruction of universities, libraries (including the Central Archive of Gaza), heritage sites, hospitals and scientific facilities by Israeli Defence Forces¹², as well as the killing of 119 university academics since October 2023¹³. The West Bank has also not escaped incursions with damage to seven universities and colleges.¹³ The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has expressed "deep concern" following its damage assessment of 64 cultural properties (historical buildings, religious sites and museums).¹⁴

In early 2023, the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) released a Guideline to consider the "impact [of conflict] on scientific infrastructure, including scientific collections, laboratories, libraries, digital resources, or communications" before issuing a position statement.¹⁵ Despite a recent ASSAf Council decision not to release any statement about the scientific impact of war in Gaza, we argue that the bombardment of academic, cultural, medical and educational infrastructure in Palestine indeed meets the organisation's own criteria for action.

To be clear, other ongoing global conflicts are equally deserving of condemnation. Rather than avoidance on the grounds of potential divisiveness, institutional and organisational failure to respond appropriately to other scholasticides such as those in Afghanistan, Sudan, Ukraine and elsewhere^16-19 necessitates institutional introspection and conscious self-study. What should be questioned is not the position taken by some South African higher educational institutions denouncing the ongoing scholasticide in Gaza but rather the insistence and defence of silence by others on the grounds of "academic neutrality". To do so is to claim that public institutions of higher education in South Africa can afford to be non-committal in matters of life and death.

Furthermore, the practice of science is never apolitical, although the myth of empiricism would have us believe otherwise. All our endeavours are embedded in a much larger social context, forcing us to balance our freedoms to teach, research and pursue avenues of scholarly enquiry, with our ethical responsibilities. Accordingly, it becomes our moral duty to call out all attacks on the academy and the pursuit of knowledge itself, wherever this may occur, and most certainly in the context of the "plausible genocide"²⁰ taking place in Gaza. All people's cultural and historical memories are sacrosanct, and the erasure of the means to educate, research and preserve historical records is as grievous as other war crimes.

At the time of writing this, 6 of the 26 South African public universities (Nelson Mandela University, University of Fort Hare, University of the Western Cape, University of South Africa, University of Venda and University of Cape Town), have, in various ways, resolved at the institutional level to sever ties with Israeli institutions, either in line with the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) guidelines²¹ or other criteria. Such resolutions are not without precedent; and we must recall that South African institutions were on the receiving end of similar isolation during apartheid, when the United Nations, pursuant to declaring apartheid a crime against humanity, issued its resolution to "cease any cultural and academic collaboration with South Africa"²².

To oppose intolerable human rights violations is not to jump on some "bandwagon", but rather to recognise that academic institutions in Israel operate in direct service²³ to a state and/or its military whose policies and actions are 'beyond the pale', as has been found by the International Court of Justice (ICJ)²⁴. Furthermore, scholars at Israeli universities have themselves called for solidarity against the censorship and assault on freedom of thought and expression at the hands of the Israeli state.^25-27

We acknowledge that taking a position on conflict is not without consequence. Internationally, particularly in the USA, Europe and Canada, university presidents endured severe scrutiny and at times forced resignations when previously issued statements and/or unending student protests did not align with powerful interests. The subsequent chilling effects on freedom of expression have been well documented.²⁸ Israeli scholars are speaking out about the isolation their universities are facing, with fewer foreign students and exchanges with the outside world; and, as one Israeli academic put it, "If your science is not connected to international science, if you're not in dialogue and collaboration with scholars and students around the world, then science cannot happen"²⁹.

The costs and consequences of taking a principled stand on Israel's relentless war in Palestine must moreover be weighed against the cost of inaction. What is the price of South Africa's higher education institutional conscience? What happens if the academy loses its critical stance, shies away from controversy and dances to the tune of the powerful who wield immense financial and cultural capital?

In the case of a South African boycott and/or selective severing of institutional and individual ties with Israel, there most certainly will be local and international backlash. This is the inevitable 'cost' of exercising academic freedom. Notwithstanding its recent submission to the ICJ, South African institutions have long-established and productive relationships with the higher education sector in Israel. Alumni and donors are threatening to and, in some instances, have already withdrawn funding and other forms of support because of such positions. Confronting this requires robust and nuanced debate rather than mere capitulation to economic manipulation.

The question then turns pragmatic. Debates on institutional values, rights and responsibilities are often polarising; however, rather than failing to engage, we must develop the skills to contain these while remaining true to our core mandate. With universities under relentless pressures of the fiscus and creeping managerialism³⁰, space to connect with the myriad wicked problems of our times is limited, especially as this requires transdisciplinary approaches that fit poorly with our disciplinary silos. Nevertheless, the nettle must be grasped, not just for the sake of academic integrity but for the continued relevance of universities as sites of critical inquiry in South African society.

 

Declarations

Our views are our own and do not necessarily represent the views of our institutions or member organisations. We have no competing interests to declare. We have no AI or LLM use to declare. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

 

References

1. De Vos P. Court cases against UCT and Maties are emblematic of the 'Mpofu-fication' of SA universities. Daily Maverick. 2024 October 09. Available from: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-10-09-court-cases-against-uct-and-maties-are-emblematic-of-the-mpofu-fication-of-sa-universities/        [ Links ]

2. Chetty N. Should our universities respond to geopolitical conflicts around the world? S Afr J Sci. 2025;121(3/4), Art. #19349. https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2025/19349        [ Links ]

3. South African Government. Higher Education Act 101 of 1997 [webpage on the Internet]. c1997 [cited 2024 Dec 04]. Available from: https://www.gov.za/documents/higher-education-act        [ Links ]

4. Ndofirepi A, Cross M. Reconnecting the university to society: The role of knowledge as public good in South African higher education. J High Educ Afr. 2016;14(1):119-140. https://doi.org/10.57054/jhea.v14i1.1509        [ Links ]

5. South African Government. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa [webpage on the Internet]. c1996 [cited 2024 Dec 04]. Available from: https://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/constitution-republic-south-africa-04-feb-1997        [ Links ]

6. United Nations. Universal Declaration of Human Rights [webpage on the Internet]. c1948 [cited 2024 Dec 04]. Available from: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights        [ Links ]

7. Mahmood M. University of Cape TownTB Davie Memorial Lecture [webpage on the Internet]. c2017 [cited 2024 Dec 04]. Available from: http://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2017-08-24-mamdani-returns        [ Links ]

8. Union of South Africa. Extension of University Education Act, Act No 45 of 1959 [webpage on the Internet]. c1959 [cited 2024 Dec 04]. Available from: https://disa.ukzn.ac.za/leg19590619028020045        [ Links ]

9. Mohammed E. The death of Steve Biko, revisited. JSTOR Daily. 2020 September 17. Available from: https://daily.jstor.org/the-death-of-steve-biko-revisited/        [ Links ]

10. Magaziner D. 'Black Man, You Are on Your Own!': Making race consciousness in South African thought, 1968-1972. Int J Afr Hist Stud. 2009;42(2):221-240.         [ Links ]

11. James D. David Webster: An activist anthropologist twenty years on. Afr Stud. 2009;68(2):287-295. https://doi.org/10.1080/00020180903109672        [ Links ]

12. Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council. UN experts deeply concerned over 'scholasticide' in Gaza [press release]. Geneva: United Nations OHCHR; 2024. Available from: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/04/un-experts-deeply-concerned-over-scholasticide-gaza        [ Links ]

13. Palestine Ministry of Education and Higher Education. Summary of the #IsraeliOccupation violations against #education in #Palestine [X post. 2024 November 26 [cited 2024 Nov 27]. Available from: https://twitter.com/PalestineMoE/status/1861370857135731061        [ Links ]

14. UNESCO. Gaza Strip: Damage assessment. Paris: UNESCO; 2024. Available from: https://www.unesco.org/en/gaza/assessment        [ Links ]

15. Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). Guidelines for decision-making on the issue of ASSAf Statements on Conflict [document on the Internet]. c2024 [cited 2024 Dec 04]. Available from: https://www.assaf.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ASSAf-Guidelines-for-decisions-to-issue-satements-on-conflict_08-02-23.pdf        [ Links ]

16. Dahlén M, Lange F. Let's be strange: Brand familiarity and ad-brand incon-gruency. J Prod Brand Manag. 2003;12(7):449-461. https://doi.org/10.1108/10610420310506010        [ Links ]

17. Muna MSE, Rebecca G. Research in displacement: The impact of war on Sudan's higher education and academic research. Nairobi: Rift Valley Institute; 2024. Available from: https://riftvalley.net/publication/research-in-displacement/        [ Links ]

18. Peter G, Salvatore A, ISC Governing Board. International Science Council deplores the exclusion of women from university education in Afghanistan and urges the Afghan authorities to reverse their decision. Paris: International Science Council. 2022. Available from: https://council.science/news/statement-afghanistan-women-education/        [ Links ]

19. Brendan O. Steep rise in military attacks on higher education globally. University World News. 2024 June 21. Available from: https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20240621220723767        [ Links ]

20. Galand AS, Muller W. The ICJ's findings on plausible genocide In Gaza and Its implications for the International Criminal Court. Opinio Juris. 2024 April 05. Available from: https://opiniojuris.org/2024/04/05/the-icjs-findings-on-plausible-genocide-in-gaza-and-its-implications-for-the-international-criminal-court/        [ Links ]

21. Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott. PACBI Guidelines for the International Academic Boycott of Israel [webpage on the Internet]. c2014 [cited 2024 Dec 04]. Available from: https://bdsmovement.net/pacbi/academic-boycott-guidelines        [ Links ]

22. UN General Assembly (35th Sess.: 1980-1981). Cultural, academic and other boycotts of South Africa [webpage on the Internet]. c1981 [cited 2024 Dec 04]. Available from: https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/614065        [ Links ]

23. Wind M. Towers of ivory and steel: How Israeli universities deny Palestinian freedom. London: Verso Books; 2024. p. 383.         [ Links ]

24. Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council. Experts hail ICJ declaration on illegality of Israel's presence in the occupied Palestinian territory as "historic" for Palestinians and international law [press release]. Geneva: United Nations OHCHR. 2024. Available from: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/07/experts-hail-icj-declaration-illegality-israels-presence-occupied        [ Links ]

25. Scholars At Risk Academic Freedom Monitoring Project. 2024-03-28 Sapir Academic College [webpage on the Internet]. c2024 [cited 2024 Dec 04]. Available from: https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/report/2024-03-28-sapir-academic-college/        [ Links ]

26. Scholars At Risk Academic Freedom Monitoring Project. 2024-04-18 Hebrew University [webpage on the Internet]. c2024 [cited 2024 Dec 04]. Available from: https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/report/2024-04-18-hebrew-university/        [ Links ]

27. Elia-Shalev A. Israeli academics slammed for signing letter accusing Israel of 'plausible genocide'. The Times of Israel. 2024 April 14. Available from: https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-academics-slammed-for-signing-letter-accusing-israel-of-plausible-genocide/        [ Links ]

28. Irene K. Global threats to freedom of expression arising from the conflict in Gaza - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan (A/79/319) [Internet]. New York: United Nations; 2024. Available from: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/report-special-rapporteur-23aug24/        [ Links ]

29. Juliette R. Israeli research increasingly isolated one year into Gaza war. Times Higher Education; 2024 September 24. Available from: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/israeli-research-increasingly-isolated-one-year-gaza-war        [ Links ]

30. McKenna S. The rise of the executive dean and the slide into managerialism. Educ Res Soc Change. 2020;9(spe):78-91. https://doi.org/10.17159/2221-4070/2020/v9i0a6        [ Links ]

 

 

Correspondence:
Laurel Baldwin-Ragaven
Email: laurel.baldwin-ragaven@wits.ac.za

Published: 7 March 2025