Pressure is mounting for the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Senate to take a firm stance on Israel’s war in Gaza after staff and student solidarity groups submitted a draft resolution calling for the university to boycott Israeli academic institutions and support Palestinian educational institutions and academics under fire in Gaza.
The UP Senate will meet on Tuesday, 30 July to vote on whether to adopt the draft resolution.
Speaking on behalf of UPStaff4Palestine, a group that stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people, UP senior lecturer Dr Marc Wegerif told Daily Maverick it was essential that institutions like the University of Pretoria took a stand on the human rights violations taking place in Palestine.
“What a lot of people hear when we talk about taking a stance in this conflict is that we support Hamas. That is not true. We do not support Hamas. We do not support Israel. But we do stand with the people of Palestine, and the university should, too,” Wegerif said…..more
