What does the EFF’s SRC victory mean for Jewish students at Wits?

JORDAN MOSHE

With their calls for the decolonisation of tertiary institutions and drawing of attention to national socio-economic concerns of disadvantaged students, the EFF Student Command (EFFSC) secured 12 out of 15 seats at the SRC elections held on October 19. They officially came into office on Wednesday (November 1).

This victory comes at considerable cost to the previously dominant ANC-aligned PYA (Progressive Youth Alliance), who took the remaining three seats in this year’s election.

Outgoing SAUJS chairperson at Wits, Gabriel Zollman, says it is difficult to gauge what lies ahead, including the implications for Jewish students, as this is a first for Wits, and for the EFFSC.

This election, he says, highlights how the major political challenges which directly affect students, are a determining factor in university politics. It in turn strongly influences national politics.

However, he did lament the fact that “so few students voted in this SRC election. There are still real issues facing students, and it will be interesting to see what approach this new EFF-led SRC adopts in solving some of those problems”.

Incoming SAUJS chairperson for 2018, Rachel Raff, expressed some concerns about the new SRC, not least of all the stance adopted on Israel by the EFF in government.

“As we know, the EFF has aligned  itself with the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to delegitimise Israel as the nation state for the Jewish people.

“During the BDS’s Israel Apartheid Week (IAW) on campus, the movement seeks to provide a distorted view of the situation in Israel. They evoke feelings of fascism, racism, apartheid and colonialism in students, enticing hate towards their Jewish peers.”

On the consequences for Jewish students attending Wits, she said: “The BDS – and by extension the EFF – claims that anti-Zionism does not equate to anti-Semitism. This is totally untrue. I think this distorted view held by the incoming SRC members… could negatively affect Jewish students by a rise of anti-Semitism on campus.

“The local branches of SAUJS will have to increase the level of Israel exposure and engagement on campus, providing platforms for students to get a comprehensive view of the issues surrounding Israel and educating them on what Zionism is and its essential link to Judaism, says Raff.

“The SAUJS national committee will provide as much support to local branches as possible, and it is our hope that the political views on the SRC do not cloud their judgement as representatives of the whole of the university’s student body.”

Despite these concerns, some Jewish students are not overly perturbed over the political changes on campus. Honours student Kevin Levy says:  “While any major shift in political leadership has the potential to foster dangerous rhetoric and agendas, I’m not entirely certain that this change will have much effect on the day-to-day university experience – certainly not for Jewish students who, especially nowadays, are fairly inconsequential in the greater scheme of things.”