Students at S. African university boycott Israel
Witwatersrand University students' council declares academic, cultural boycott on Israel in show of solidarity with Palestinians
Students at South Africa's University of Witwatersrand announced Monday they are adopting an academic and cultural boycott of Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
A statement issued by the school's Student Representative Council (SRC) also called for an immediate investigation into any academic, financial and cultural relations with Israeli institutions.
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The Wits SRC resolution stated that, "Throughout the world students joined people of conscience in opposing the (Apartheid) regime, which systematically perpetrated racial injustice in South Africa. Because of our history... we must unite and stand in solidarity with those who face similar oppression.
"The Wits Student Representative Council stands firm in its support of Palestinians and the Palestinian Boycott, divestment and sanctions (against Israel) movement… The SRC will not participate in any form of cultural or academic collaboration or joint projects with Israeli institutions and will not provide any support to Israeli cultural or academic institutions," the statement said.
The University of Johannesburg last year became the world's first to impose an academic boycott on Israel, ending its relationship with Ben-Gurion University.
South Africa's government angered Israel three months ago by issuing instructions that goods imported from Israeli West Bank settlements not be labeled "product of Israel."
Many South Africans equate the Israeli treatment of Palestinians with their former apartheid regime's abuse of blacks.
AP contributed to this report
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