Toronto

Reaching the Tipping Point? Anti-Normalization and Academic Boycott from South Africa, Palestine to Canada

7:00pm
- 9:00pm
Monday March 10 2014

As Omar Barghouti of PACBI has recently stated, the growth in support for the boycott of Israeli academic institutions has reached a “tipping point”. On April 1st 2011, The University of Johannesburg (UJ) officially announced that it will cut ties with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. On this day, the BDS campaign witnessed a landmark moment as UJ became the first institution to officially sever relations with an Israeli university. This boycott decision, coming from a South African institution, was of particular significance as it set a precedent, and started a domino boycott effect.

As well, as the boycott movement is gaining mainstream attention, academic ties between Canada and Israel are increasing. The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) recently signed a major collaboration document with its counterparts in Israel that marks an intensification of normalizing ties. This partnership agreement with the Association of University Heads of Israel marks an intensification of normalizing ties with Israeli institutions on Canadian university and college campuses. The intention of this partnership is to coordinate, expand, regularize, and institutionally entrench research, teaching and other ties with Israeli universities.

Salim Vally is the director of the Centre for Education Rights and Transformation, and associate professor at the Faculty of Education at the University of Johannesburg. Salim was involved in a campaign that convinced the University of Johannesburg (UJ) to severe its institutional ties from Ben Gurion University. UJ was the first institution to officially sever relations with an Israeli university. 

Vally was a leading member of the South African Students Movement in 1976/1977 and left the country after its banning by the erstwhile apartheid regime and after severe repression. He returned to South Africa in 1982. From 1985 to 1994 he was the education officer for CCAWUSA (later SACCAWU) and was a founder member of Congress of South African Trade Union (COSATU). Vally was an activist for Palestinian solidarity since the days of apartheid in South Africa and after the first democratic elections in 1994 campaigned for the boycott of Israel and with others founded the Palestine Solidarity Committee. In 2001, he was a leading member of social movements and trade unions that organised the 10 000 strong march at the UN World Conference against Racism (WCAR) which marched behind a banner that read “Zionism is Racism” and pledged to form the second anti-apartheid movement against apartheid Israel. He taught at York University between 2007-2009 and was a member of Coalition against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) and Faculty 4 Palestine. In 2010, together with student organisations, trade unions and academics convinced the University of Johannesburg to break links established during the days of apartheid with Ben Gurion University. Vally was prevented last year by the apartheid authorities in Israeli from delivering a keynote address on education at Bir Zeit University in Occupied Palestine.
Salim Vally will speak about the importance of the academic boycott, in particular the academic boycott work that is being done in South Africa.

Linda Tabar, is a member of Faculty 4 Palestine. She will speak about the significance of the academic boycott, and will offer insights on perspectives from Palestine.

Sue Ferguson, a member from Faculty for Palestine will speak about the ways in which Israel is normalizing its ties with Canadian University and college campuses. She will underscore the importance of the academic boycott, in particular the academic boycott campaign that Faculty for Palestine has recently established and launched in Canada.

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Rebecca Granovsky-Larsen (Rebecca Granovsky-Larsen)
Toronto
Member since May 2009

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