Cape Town – A proposed anti-Israeli motion at the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) upcoming Convocation Annual General Meeting could jeopardise hundreds of millions of rand in research funding and student support programmes, warns the South African Zionist Federation (SAZF).
“This latest attempt to politicise UCT’s governance threatens to repeat past mistakes that endangered the university’s academic and financial stability,” warned SAZF spokesperson, Rolene Marks.
The motion, scheduled for discussion at the AGM on Thursday, (5 December 2024), follows a similar move years ago that highlighted the severe risks of such political initiatives.
In March 2019, the UCT Senate proposed severing ties with Israeli academic institutions operating in or “enabling gross human rights violations” in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
However, the UCT Council requested clarification and commissioned a comprehensive risk assessment, which SAZF said revealed potentially devastating consequences that included:
- Potential loss of R660 million in U.S. research funding, including grants from the National Institute of Health (NIH), which represented 55% of UCT’s research income;
- Annual donation losses of up to R57 million from alumni;
- Threatened partnerships with German academic institutions due to their government’s stance on academic freedom;
- Risk of exclusion from international academic partnerships; and,
- Jeopardy to scholarship programmes for underprivileged students and funding for temporary and contract staff positions.
SAZF said the Senate ultimately rescinded the resolution in November 2019, acknowledging these substantial risks.
“The current situation is particularly concerning given recent statements by Vivek Ramaswamy, the new head of U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, regarding potential NIH budget reviews,” said SAZF in a statement on Wednesday, (4 December 2024).
The SAZF said it has raised procedural concerns about the upcoming AGM.
“Multiple Convocation members report they weren’t notified about the meeting until after registration closed, and the agenda was distributed late,” said Marks.
“This suggests an orchestrated attempt to force through a predetermined political outcome.
“This motion represents a misguided attempt to punish Israel, the Middle East’s only liberal democracy, for defending itself against terrorist attacks.
“The real victims would be UCT’s students and research programmes.”
Meanwhile, UCT has invited graduates, active staff members, and students to attend the Annual General Meeting of the UCT Convocation.
The online version of the meeting will take place on Microsoft Teams.
