Yes, really.
Jewish students at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) who supported the State of Israel should be kicked out, the Students Representative Council (SRC) has demanded.
And this applies to students who are sponsored by the Israeli government. The demands, sent to the DUT management, have shocked and angered Jewish organisations.
The vice-chancellor of the university, Professor Ahmed Bawa, said the demand by the SRC and the Progressive Youth Alliance that the DUT deregister all Jewish students “is totally unacceptable”.
The Secretary of the SRC, Mqondisi Duma, said: “As the SRC, we had a meeting and analysed international politics. We took the decision that Jewish students, especially those who do not support the Palestinian struggle, should deregister.”
On Tuesday night, Natan Pollack – the national chairman of the South African Union of Jewish Students – said the suggestion was “deplorable”.
“To discriminate against people because of their religious and political standpoint goes against freedom of speech,” Pollack said.
Chairwoman of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, Durban-based Mary Kluk, said she was “appalled” and said it was unacceptable such demands could be made in an academic institution
Notice how they demanded that Jewish students deregister. Not Israeli students or even pro-Israel students (not that this would be acceptable either).
I can’t say anything surprises me anymore, with the climate of Jew hatred we are seeing.
Update: From the SRC’s draft policy document from 2012:
We, the students of the Durban University of Technology, recognise our diversity and believe that as a student community we need to be united. Further, we affirm our belief in the principles of democracy, non-sexism, non-racism, non-tribalism, non-ethnicity, equity and freedom as stipulated in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act No. 108 of 1996. We pledge our commitment to heal the divisions of the past through the establishment of a student community based on the following values:
Tolerance
o Acceptance of diversity
o Integrity
o Academic freedom
o Co-operative governance
o Reject unfair discrimination
o Non-racism and non- sexism
o Ubuntu
Further, we commit ourselves to ensure that this SRC Constitution:
o enhances academic life and promotes academic excellence
o upholds democracy and democratic values
o promotes the mission and vision of the Durban University of Technology
o promotes interaction and communication between the SRC and the student community
o promotes equality in all aspects of student life
o promotes unity
o is implementable through the provision of appropriate leadership development programmes for students
Update by Brian: Lets not forget that Durban is the home of the Zionism is Racism slander and the town which renamed the road from the Airport to the city centre the “Yasser Arafat Highway”
