Turning IAW into “Israel Awareness Week”

When “Israeli Apartheid Week” (IAW) was first introduced on our university campuses, it posed many complex challenges for Jewish students. Should the invective of the other side simply be met with counter-invective, or were there constructive – even positive – ways to respond to this malicious attempt to smear and delegitimise the Jewish state?

Working closely with the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) and other communal bodies, and with the support of our Christian allies, the South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS) has developed an effective counter-campaign over the past few years, one that emphasises dialogue and education over boycotts and intimidation. Whereas IAW aims at demonising one side in the conflict, silencing and discrediting anyone presuming to oppose that perspective, what’s now informally referred to as “Israel Awareness Week” aims to foster a greater understanding of the realities of the conflict and explore ways in which a peaceful resolution might be achieved. As we have seen, an approach based on nuanced, informed discussion resonates far more effectively with the average student.

During this testing time for our students and community, Israeli student activists from the organisation “Stand With Us” provide invaluable support. Through it, we were able this year to bring out Noah Shufutinsky, a black Jewish hip-hop artist from Israel. A packed programme including meetings with all the various stakeholders and the media was put together. A high point was Shufutinsky’s collaborating with local artist Tanaka Juro, who has Zimbabwean roots, on producing a song against racism, xenophobia, and antisemitism. The song was released for the first time on eNCA. Beyond simply showing the reality of Israel’s diverse multifaith, racial, and ethnic society and turning the vile “Zionism equals racism” canard on its head, the message of peace and tolerance brought by Shufutinsky and Juro has resonated powerfully for South Africa as a whole. On Human Rights Day, they joined the SAJBD and SAUJS in visiting Sharpeville and laying a wreath at the memorial to those killed in the tragedy. I congratulate our media and communications head, Charisse Zeifert, for putting this outstanding programme together.

The contrast between how SAUJS and the various organisations aligned with the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement approach IAW was even more striking this year, when calls were even made for the SAUJS voice on university campuses to be silenced altogether. At the University of Cape Town (UCT), a public screening of messages from representatives of Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas, both rabidly antisemitic movements that have been designated terrorist organisations by most democratic countries, took place. SAUJS and the SAJBD Cape Council strenuously opposed the event, calling on UCT to stand by its commitment to “build an equitable social order based on respect for human rights” as per its own statement of values. In spite of this, the event went ahead, and though it was heartening to see how pitifully few people actually attended, the fact that it took place at all is regrettable. We’re in the process of following up with the university to ascertain what happened and to consider ways in which such events can be prevented in future.

While the BDS lobby was focusing on maligning the Jewish state, the Board again found meaningful ways to mark Human Rights Day. In Johannesburg, this took the form of the Alex Wellness Day community project run by the SAJBD Gauteng Council in partnership with the Greater Alexandra Chamber of Commerce. I look forward to reporting on this initiative, in which Jewish health practitioners provided a range of free medical services to Alex residents, in more detail in next week’s column.

• Listen to Charisse Zeifert on Jewish Board Talk, 101.9 ChaiFM, every Friday from 12:00 to 13:00.