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TODAY: PROTEST AGAINST ETHNIC/RACIAL PROFILING AND HOSTING OF ISRAEL CONCERT AT WITS UNIVERSITY
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DAY: Today (Wednesday, 28 August)
TIME: 18h00
PLACE: Great Hall, Central Block, East Campus, Wits University, Johannesburg
CONTACT: 0834530528 / 084219988
DRESS: Please dress in black
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GROUP OF WITS STAFF CONDEMN "RACIAL PROFILING" AT WITS ISRAEL CONCERT
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A group of Wits University staff members have issued a statement strongly condemning the racism associated with the upcoming Israel concert taking place on their campus. In the statement issued this morning, they say: "We consider the racial/ethnic profiling documented in this instance - including for the purposes of limiting the right to protest - to be sufficiently inimical to the values of the university." In addition, the staff members also ask that their "University exercise its prerogative to disallow the use of the University for this [Daniel Zamir Israeli concert] event." Click here to read the complete statement. If you are a Wits staff member and would like to sign this statement please send an email to shireen.ally@wits.ac.za |
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WITS PRINCIPAL AND MANAGEMENT'S COMPLICITY IN RACISM AND USE OF ISRAELI "CHEQUE-BOOK DIPLOMACY"
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The Daniel Zamir Israeli concert is being organised with the endorsement of Wits University's Principal, Professor Adam Habib, and the Management of Wits University. Professor Habib has said that Wits University is arranging for this Israeli musician to perform so as to make up for a previous Israeli concert that was disrupted in March (see: http://tinyurl.com/ll8y3oq).
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Earlier this year, Wits University's Principal, Professor Adam Habib, admitted that indeed, Wits University has come under financial "pressure from donors who support Israel," and that, "there have indeed been some individuals who have threatened to withdraw their donations." Professor Habib responded, at that time, stating that Wits University "will not be threatened or cajoled by cheque-book diplomacy". It seems as if Professor Adam Habib and Wits University Management has either capitulated to the Israeli lobby and its use of "cheque-book diplomacy". In the interests of transparancy, these threats should immediatly be made public.
Wits University's Principal, Professor Adam Habib, and Wits' Management claim that the event is a Wits event and not one hosted by pro-Israeli organizations. However, on Monday Professor Habib admitted in a meeting with the Wits University's SRC that the pro-Israeli organizations, the SA Jewish Board of Deputies, has funded and paid for the Israeli musician to be at Wits.
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The Wits University's Student Representative Council (SRC) sent a letter to Wits University's Principal, Professor Adam Habib, making it clear to Wits University's Management that the inviting or hosting of Israeli events at Wits university is in violation of the Wits SRC's 2012 boycott of Israel resolution. However, Professor Adam Habib has said that even though the Wits SRC was chosen to represent students, they do not represent the student body on all issues because he has received some letters and petitions from some students who disagree with the SRC. Professor Habib said that if he listened to everything the Wits SRC had to say, his role as a University Principal would mean nothing: “They would just tell me what to do.” (see: http://tinyurl.com/ll8y3oq).
The Wits SRC is the elected representative of the students and a University Principal should be taking his/her direction from that body. Democracy and elections (together with election results) must be protected and respected.
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Wits University's Principal, Professor Adam Habib, has said that the he made the tickets available to the public and now that the Israeli lobby has bought all the tickets, are racially profiling and re-selling them with back-ground checks is out of his control. Wits University's Mangement should do the right thing, cancel the event and conduct an immediate investigation as the event is still being hosted at Wits University and (as staff have argues) the practise of racial profiling is inimical to the values of Wits.
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Finally, Wits University's Principal, Professor Adam Habib, claims that the allegations (of racial profiling, the buying out of the venue, the use of the controversial CSO etc.) "could not be true" (click here to see). We put it on record, that we have not made mere allegations, but instead, we have put forward irrefutable proof and evidence.
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If you would like to send a message of protest to Wits University's Management, email us (administrator@bdssouthafrica.com) and we will forward it to Wits University's Management.
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TELEPHONE RECORDINGS WITH EVIDENCE OF RACIAL PROFILING BY ISRAELI ORGANISATIONS AT WITS UNIVERSITY IN JOHANNESBURG
[Join today's protest (Wed, 28 Aug, 6pm)]
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 This Monday (26 August) the Wits University Palestine Solidarity Committee and BDS South Africa made available two audio recordings (click here to watch on YouTube) with evidence of ethnic racial-profiling and background-checking practiced by pro-Israeli organisations in South Africa (which include the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, the South African Zionist Federation and the controversial Community Security Organisation) who have funded the hosting of an Israeli concert at Wits University in Johannesburg (scheduled to take place today, Wednesday 28 August).
In the audio recordings, the Beyachad (which is the headquarters of the two pro-Israeli organizations: the SA Jewish Board of Deputies and the SA Zionist Federation) admit that they themselves have "bought-out" the entire Israeli concert at Wits University in order to re-sell the tickets and make use of their own "background checks" when re-selling so as to try and keep the event a "Jewish only" one - even though the event has been advertised (by themselves) as one open to the general public.
The hosting of Israel's Daniel Zamir at Wits University comes five months after another Israeli musical event at Wits University was protested and subsequently cancelled. After the previous concert, Wits University's newly appointed Principal, Professor Adam Habib, offered this "replacement" event (click here) to the pro-Israeli organizers.
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I. EXTRACT FROM TELEPHONE AUDIO RECORDINGS:
"JEWISH ONLY EVENT"
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When calling to purchase tickets for the Daniel Zamir Israel concert a Wits University Political Studies student was asked by the organiser of the concert whether he and the people he intended to bring to the concert were all Jewish. Subsequently, the same student as well as another Wits University student called-back, this time with audio recording devices.
While the the SA Jewish Board of Deputies and the SA Zionist Federation, who are funding the Daniel Zamir Israeli concert at Wits University, may now claim that they are not against having "non-Jews" at the event, it is clear that they are taking measures to try to racially profile audience members and try to keep it a Jewish only event.
There is no space for this sort of ethnic racial profiling and exclusionary events on our South African campuses, or in our larger society. Being exclusively "Jewish" (or exclusively Muslim, exclusively White, or exclusively Christian) will --by definition-- exclude others. Its the exclusive and exclusion based on ethnicity at a public event, at a public institution that we take issue with, not whether its practised by Jews, Muslims, Christians or any other ethnic group. This ethnic racism and ethnic racial profiling is what Israel practices against the indigenous Palestinians as well as Africans and it seems as if pro-Israeli organisations in South Africa are now importing this racism to our country. For example, according to media reports, just this week, the city of Tel Aviv in Israel has initiated segregated kindergartens and pre-schools, one for Israeli Jews and separate ones for Africans (click here to see).
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II. EXTRACT FROM TELEPHONE AUDIO RECORDINGS:
PRO-ISRAELI ORGANIZATION BUYS OUT ENTIRE VENUE TO CONDUCT "BACKGROUND CHECKS"
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The Beyachad (which is the headquarters of the two pro-Israeli organizations: the SA Jewish Board of Deputies and the SA Zionist Federation) bought out the entire public event so as to re-sell only to "Jews" or “safe others". Tickets for the Daniel Zamir Israel concert, were originally on sale via www.strictlytickets.co.za, but, a week ago, the event was listed as "sold-out" and people were referred to the Beyachad . The Beyachad, it turns out, had bought all the tickets for the entire event to ensure direct control over whom would be allowed to attend the concert.
Another organiser of the concert, during a separate recorded conversation, explains that the Beyachad "has booked out the whole concert and every person who is attending will be checked-out and have background-checks before they are allowed access to the concert".
The "buying-out" of the event is done so that the SA Jewish Board of Deputies and the SA Zionist Federation, can ethnically control who it allows into the event - allowing only "Jews" and a few others they deem "safe". The idea that the upcoming Daniel Zamir Israel concert event was open to all Wits University students, Wits University staff or the public - as claimed by the SA Jewish Board of Deputies (on its website) and by the SA Zionist Federation (see here) - is simply false.
The claim on the website of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies that: "The concert...represents an important public demonstration of the right to freedom of expression on our university campuses" is hypocritical and deceptive.
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III. EXTRACT FROM TELEPHONE AUDIO RECORDINGS:
USE OF CONTROVERSIAL "CSO" SECURITY ORGANISATION
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In the second conversation and audio recording, a female member of the Beyachad (the headquarters of the two pro-Israeli organisations: the South African Jewish Board of Deputies and the South African Zionist Federation and who bought out all the tickets in order to re-sell them) admits that the Jewish CSO, a controversial security organization (see: http://tinyurl.com/kfz6z7k), which has criminal charges laid against it, has been delegated the responsibility of carrying out the concert's "background security checks".
In 2009, incidents of racist treatment by the CSO, took place at another pro-Israeli event hosted at Wits University. After students and staff complained that they had been racially profiled and victimized by members of the CSO, the university commissioned an independent investigation by respected advocate Geoff Budlender. This resulted in the 2009 Budlender Report (find here). Following an independent investigation a report was released on the 26th of November 2009 wherein it confirmed acts of racial profiling by the private security organization, the Jewish CSO. The 2009 Budlender Report quotes numerous factual accounts of racial treatment and the trauma experienced. One Wits University staff member, Dr. Norma Tsotsi, testified that the CSO’s behaviour “felt like an apartheid thing” (55, p. 20). This together with other evidence lead advocate Geoff Budlender to recommend that, in future, security at Wits University should be the responsibility of “the University or an agency hired by the university, and not by the external organisation” (122.5.3, p. 43).
In April 2013, the CSO was implicated in extra-judicial and violent assaults on two women protestors, including a former Wits student (see:http://tinyurl.com/kfz6z7k).
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WE HEREBY CALL ON THE PRINCIPAL & MANAGEMENT OF WITS UNIVERSITY:
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We (the Wits University Palestine Solidarity Committee, BDS South Africa, staff and students) call on the Principal, Professor Adam Habib, and the Management of Wits University to:
1. Cancel the upcoming Israeli event scheduled to take place at Wits University's Great Hall on Wednesday the 28th of August due to:
a) The event violating the Wits SRC's boycott of Israel resolution; and,
b) The irrefutable evidence provided of ethnic racism and racial profiling associated with the event.
We remind Wits University's Principal and Management that to not allow the Daniel Zamir Israel concert to continue at Wits University on the grounds that there is irrefutable proof that the organisers have behaved in a way that is inimical to the values of the university and that infringed on the rights to dignity, equality, and protest of staff and students of the university would NOT contravene the right to freedom of speech. Advocate Geoff Budlender clearly and unambiguously indicated this in his Report (119, p. 41), and any arguments to the contrary are a misunderstanding of the University’s legal rights and entitlements in this instance.
2. Distance the university from the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, the South African Zionist Federation and the Jewish CSO and their pracitises of racial profiling. Anything less can only but be interpreted as if Wits University has endorsed the racial profiling and background-checks carried out by these organizations at Wits University.
Failing the cancellation of the event we have called all peace-loving and justice seeking members of the public to join us in a non-violent and peaceful protest that will be held at Wits University's Great Hall in Johannesburg from 18h00 outside of the event today, Wednesday the 28th of August. The protest will be against the racism of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies and the South African Zionist Federation and in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their call for a boycott of Israel until Israel meets its obligations under international law. As of this Monday morning at 8am, Wits University staff submitted a letter notifying the university of this protest.
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