By: Cassandra Mayekiso | The Times of Israel | May 3, 2023
(Johannesburg, South Africa) — Since 2005, anti-Israel groups have hosted “Israel Apartheid Week” (IAW), a global campaign of hate that dehumanizes Israelis and often seeks to intimidate Jewish university students. This campaign, particularly in South Africa, has left local pro-Israel students with an overwhelmingly hostile campus climate. South Africa is ground zero for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions [BDS] movement, and has one of the most antisemitic Israel Apartheid Week (IAW) campaigns in the world.
The “Israel Apartheid Week” campaign which ran from March 13-27, 2023, in South Africa began with extremist chants by anti-Israel groups at University of Cape Town (UCT) screaming “Viva Hamas! Long Live the Intifada! Israel is an apartheid state!” alongside the flags of terrorist organizations, Hamas and Hezbollah. In response, StandWithUs led a constructive educational approach together with student leaders of the South Africa StandWithUs Emerson Fellowship and their peers and partners at the South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS), the South Africa Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), and the South Africa Zionist Federation (SAZ)F, to provide comprehensive support to Jewish students and help them teach their peers about the history of Israel.
