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Protesters demand Wits take public stand on Gaza

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Protesters demand Wits take public stand on Gaza:

Scores of students, staff and alumni from Wits University gathered on the steps of the campus Great Hall on Tuesday to demand that the university take a public position on the Gaza war.

A placard read: “As you go to class today remember that there are no universities in Gaza”.

Muzzammil Tayob, from the Wits Palestine Solidarity Committee, said, “We are now seven months into the genocide and Wits University has chosen not to take a stance, not even to support the call for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire.”

Tayob called for “an academic boycott of apartheid Israel”.

A letter addressed to the vice chancellor and council chairperson was read out. It said Israel’s systematic destruction of Gaza’s education system “places an undeniable obligation on Wits to speak and act with conviction”.

“Wits remains implicated in doing business with Israeli companies, accepting donations from the Israeli embassy, and employing a former IDF officer as one of the University’s professors. Wits’ record regarding the treatment of pro-Palestinian activists is also poor.”

However, previously, the university’s strategic partnerships office head said no new agreements were signed with any Israeli universities over the past eight years.

The protesters’ letter makes five demands: full disclosure of Wits’ relations with Israel, Israel-aligned institutions and companies; a public position in solidarity with Palestine; the adoption of a BDS position regarding procurement, investments and collaborations; a sincere reflection on the meaning of academic freedom; an end to censorship and intimidation of pro-Palestinian activists and activities on campus.

In a response to student demands for a boycott in November 2023, Vice Chancellor Zeblon Vilakazi had said, “Neither myself, nor the Senate or others directs who it is that fellow academics engage with. This is the prerogative of academics and is in line with their right to exercise academic freedom as is enshrined in the (non-negotiable) values of the University, and in accordance with their individual moral and political agency.”

Tara Weinberg, a history lecturer, said, “Almost all the schools and universities in Gaza have been bombed … It’s our duty as lecturers and staff at Wits to take a stand and demand that no child, no young person has to go through that situation in order to learn or study.”

“The memorandum will be reviewed, and the University will respond to the students in due course,” said Wits senior communications officer Buhle Zuma.

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Sophiatown: The Lost “Paris of the Transvaal”

Sophiatown’s golden age was the 1940s and 50s. It was a dense, vibrant, and often dangerous neighborhood, characterized by “backyard” rooms, shebeens (illegal speakeasies), and a sophisticated social scene. It was the birthplace of Kwaito’s ancestors and the legendary “Marabi” music—a blend of traditional African rhythms and American ragtime. The streets were home to the most iconic figures of African literature and music: Miriam Makeba found her voice here; Hugh Masekela received his first trumpet from a local priest; and the writers of Drum magazine, like Can Themba and Bloke Modisane, used the neighborhood as their muse. They dressed in Fedora hats and double-breasted suits, channeling the style of Hollywood gangsters and Harlem intellectuals, creating a world that was cosmopolitain, intellectual, and radically multi-racial.

However, the “Bohemia” of Sophiatown was an existential threat to the National Party’s vision of total racial separation. The government viewed it as a “black spot” in a white area. In 1955, the state launched Western Areas Removal Scheme. On the morning of February 9th, 2,000 heavily armed police officers moved in, forcing families into trucks at gunpoint. They were relocated to the newly established matchbox houses of the South Western Townships (Soweto), 20 kilometers away. The resistance was led by figures like Trevor Huddleston, the Anglican priest whose church, St. Joseph’s, still stands today. Despite the slogan “Ons dak nie, ons pola hier” (We are not moving, we are staying here), the bulldozers were relentless.