South African artists, intellectuals and gov’t ministers take steps to isolate Israel
mondoweiss.net
How long before South Africans are accused of being anti-Semites?
South Africa to ban labeling West Bank settlement products as 'made in Israel', Amira Hass
Minister of Trade and Industry says South Africa recognizes the State of Israel only within the borders demarcated by the UN in 1948.
link to www.haaretz.com
Minister abandons Israel visit
AGRICULTURE MEC Gerrit van Rensburg has decided against taking a trip to Israel after the Department of International Relations and Co-operation told him visits by government officials to that country had to be kept to a minimum, his spokesman, Wouter Kriel, has said.
link to www.iol.co.za
South African Artists Against Apartheid, A Declaration
As South African Artists and Cultural Workers who have lived under, survived, and in many cases resisted apartheid, we acknowledge the value of international solidarity in our own struggle. It is in this context that we respond to the call by Palestinians, and their Israeli allies, for such solidarity. As artists of conscience we say no to apartheid - anywhere. We respond to the call for international solidarity and undertake not to avail any invitation to perform or exhibit in Israel. Nor will we accept funding from institutions linked to the government of Israel. This is our position until such time as Israel, in the least, complies with international law and universal principles of human rights. Until then, we too unite with international colleagues under the banner of “Artists Against Apartheid.”
link to www.southafricanartistsagainstapartheid.com
Palestinian solidarity and the responsibility of South African intellectuals
“I wish you empowerment to resist; to fight for social and economic justice; to win your real freedom and equal rights.” These are the stirring words of Omar Barghouti in his open letter to “people of conscience in the West”. The prominent Palestinian human rights activist gave an indication of the poetic ability and charisma that inspires this letter in a recent discussion over Skype. The newly established Rhodes University Palestinian Solidarity Forum (RUPSF) engaged Barghouti in an attempt to inspire students and academics to feel the immediacy of the struggle to our own pasts, and by extension, the power South African voices can hold in the contemporary international sphere. Palestinians are cognisant of the potentiality of the emotive cord that joins us: the Palestinian Campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign have candidly based their agenda and discourse on the international anti-apartheid campaigns of the 80s and 90s. Professor Adam Habib, deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Johannesburg (UJ), in a recent conversation with me, recalled how Palestinian academics imparted the moving reflection on him that, compared to the bi-partisan stance of many academic institutions globally, Palestinians “expect more from South Africa”, “we expect different”.
link to www.thoughtleader.co.za |
