Thomas Johnson - The Blog

The University of Cape Town (UCT) is broken, financially, organisationally and its ethos. This article explains why. When I saw the title of the op-ed "Universities under siege: UCT and the assault on its autonomy and academic freedom" by Nazeema Mohamed in Daily Maverick, I thought it was going to be about how UCT's academic freedom is being threatened from within, and threats to university freedom in general. She is a member of UCT's council. Instead, it was tirade against the Trump administration, Israel and UCT's donors who object to its resolution suspending academic ties with Israel. Although it's specifically about the US and other donors cancelling and threatening to cancel funding, Mohamed's wrath is directed against everyone who disagrees with UCT's council and executive policies and decisions.  I'd never heard of Mohamed until now. But then I don't know who most council members are. I suppose I should; I'm an alumnus who has the...

David Bullard To many it was unthinkable Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris and won a second term. In the run-up, American and other commentators were incredulous that the two would be so close given who Trump is and what he stands for. But here we are again. In his column Tuesday November 4 on Politicsweb, David Bullard wrote that while he's not fond of either Trump or Harris, he'd vote for Trump because he has job experience as president. (He conveniently excludes that Harris is vice-president.) He then attacks Harris for her policy of giving $20,000 to black Americans to start a business, which Bullard describes as a "handout", not help. He also criticises other proposed measures for the LGBTQ+ community in a derogatory way. But these were not Harris's only proposed policies. But it suits him that it was. Harris did not spark the imagination of many people, American liberals and around the world, particularly for siding with the status quo on Palestine. But Trump...

  Politicsweb's James Myburgh digs deep for a convoluted defense of Israel   People have drawn political and ideological lines over South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the ICJ in the Hague. Western countries, with the exception of Ireland and possibly Norway, the rightwing and Jews are against it while the global South, Russia and leftwing support it. Almost without exception there's hypocrisy on both sides.  Neither side has questioned the escalating tit-for-tat violence committed by Israel and Hamas. But as a fully recognised state and regional military and economic power, Israel bears greater responsibility for its actions. Its refusal to recognise a two-state solution, its occupation and settlement of the West Bank, Netanyahu's past facilitation of Hamas because it suited his political agenda and greed for power and disproportionate responses to Hamas attacks, which is causing far more Palestinian than Israeli deaths, indicates the scales are against Isra...

The Guardian writes the allegations of genocide against Israel, in its second day at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, needs to be heard. "The civilian death toll and human suffering in Gaza and the words of Israeli ministers are unconscionable.The urgency of this case is obvious. But its broader importance is to reinforce that the genocide convention is a matter for everyone. States have a responsibility not just to refrain from genocide, but to prevent it." South African media and commentators, though, are conflating the urgency of the case with inappropriate national pride, jingoism even, rather than a sober consideration of what it means for Gaza, and the genocide convention. They're reframing it as the moral rectitude of South Africa, which really means the ANC government, rather than as the merits of the case. Daily Maverick's Ferial Haffajee: "Amid the horror of Gaza, South Africa’s act of ubuntu raises the bar of justice for all"; Vry...

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) appears to have taken sides in the conflict in Gaza. Alexander Sinton High School in Athlone has three Palestinian flags above its name boards in two locations: one at the entrance and the other at a cross street. At least one flag predates the current situation in Gaza. Flying foreign flags on the premises of a state facility is irregular in itself. It appears the Western Cape Government is involving itself in foreign affairs policy and the affairs of another country. Flying the flag represents support for Palestine and Gaza, and by extension, Gaza's government Hamas. The situation in Palestine and particularly Gaza is tragic enough without interference from people far away who have no stake in the conflict and little knowledge of its history. One is entitled to an opinion but this time one should be careful about taking a public stand, like futile and facile flag-waving support of other people's wars. People who get involved in oth...