Open hostility on campus over Israel Apartheid Week

ROBYN SASSEN

Then, the flames ignited on Wednesday morning with a significant rise in hostility between SAUJS students and PSC supporters. This included a “die-in” staged by the PSC, in which students lay on the ground in the SAUJS side of the piazza, mimicking dead Palestinian bodies.

It included the spray painting of words such as “Fuck Zionism” on the PSC’s display in front of the Great Hall, as well as “Amandla Intifada!” The flag of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation was brought onto the side of the SAUJS camp and various other inflammatory gestures were made by PSC supporters.

“We respond to victims of terror on both sides,” said Gabriel Zollmann, national chairman of SAUJS, who spoke of the intimidation he and his fellow students were experiencing.

“We know that historically PSC does not abide by rules,” he added. “We are experiencing the brunt of clear hatred, but our students have been unwavering in their commitment,” he added. “It is hard to tell what will transpire in the rest of the week, but it is clear that PSC do not endorse our camp’s legitimacy. They do not respect our students. They are wantonly damaging our displays and have damaged our banners.”

This was the situation until shortly before the SA Jewish Report went to print on Wednesday afternoon, when the SAUJS students were deeply concerned about what lay ahead of them during the remainder of the week. They had reason for this concern as the situation – albeit sometimes fairly peaceful – appeared to be growing in volatility.

Until Wednesday, the different pockets of mixed students, black and white, Jewish, Muslim and others, wearing kippot and keffiyahs and T-shirts emblazoned with slogans from both sides, were either loudly insulting each other, or in a few cases, engaged in heated debate, but nothing more.

One of the biggest issues that could have exacerbated the situation arose over – believe it or not – whether or not the two sides could share space on campus.

“How on earth can we expect the Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) to discuss sharing land, if they can’t even agree to share the piazza at Wits University?” asked a frustrated Zollmann on Tuesday, day two of the 13th annual Israel Apartheid Week (IAW).

On Monday SAUJS members were aggressively ousted from their allocated half of the piazza outside the Great Hall by PSC students. It had previously been agreed by Wits’ Dean of Students to divide the piazza between the two, as had been the case in past years.

But some students were dismissive of this decision. Said PSC-affiliated Wits law student Rashaad Dadoo, on Twitter: “[Sharing the space] doesn’t create healthy discourse, it doesn’t create an enabling environment. All that it does is promote antagonism between the two …

“We aren’t here to fight SAUJS, private security or management. We’re here to raise awareness, to speak to our constituencies… and to discuss ideas around solidarity with Palestine.”

Dadoo said this year the idea of sharing the space was rejected as it “hasn’t worked previously”.

On Monday, PSC took matters into its own hands. According to SAUJS director, Cayla Urdang: “They tore down our posters, they removed our information boards. It was violent. It calmed down, when we moved our information displays.”

At several points, male and female SAUJS students were violently pushed by PSC students, and campus security set up a human wall between them to physically separate them.

A huge grey-painted construction of wood, was erected in front of the columns of the Great Hall, bearing the spray-painted words “Zionism is Racism”, which dominated the piazza by early Monday afternoon, mimicking Israel’s controversial concrete wall separating Israel from Palestinian areas.

“I think the volatility of the situation has to do with the FeesMustFall precedent. The concept of ‘White Privilege’ has become very easy to throw around,” and has a tendency to rapidly turn violent.”

Joining the SAUJS students were Raphael Wien and Michal Kfir, students of Jerusalem’s Hebrew University. They represent the pro-Israel advocacy organisation StandWithUs and are in South Africa during IAW, which continues until March 12.

Kfir, who was violently pushed by PSC students, said: “While this behaviour might be acceptable in South Africa, it isn’t in Israel. We don’t want students to be afraid to come to university.”

Zollmann explained: “Leading up to IAW, SAUJS urged the university to meet with us and PSC, so we could establish clear terms of engagement well in advance of the week. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen. We had just one meeting in January. It wasn’t fruitful.”

Said Zollman: “We don’t mind sharing the space, but if PSC or others can’t even share this space, how on earth can we expect them to share land?”