South Africa’s universities are facing a moment of reckoning. A delegation of 10 senior academics from institutions including the universities of Cape Town, Johannesburg, Stellenbosch, Pretoria and Free State, as well as Unisa, have just returned from a week-long academic tour to Israel, part of an ongoing effort by the South African Friends of Israel and the Israeli embassy to rebuild academic diplomacy at a time when intellectual spaces at home are becoming increasingly polarised.
The visit coincided with a rare window of geopolitical calm. The temporary ceasefire in the Israel–Hamas conflict has opened an opportunity to restore scholarly dialogue and rebuild bridges that ideological activism has eroded. While on the tour, South African scholars met with researchers, students and innovation hubs across Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and the Negev, exploring areas for collaboration in engineering, health sciences, technology and social development. Several heads of department expressed interest in pursuing formal partnerships.
This trip stands in stark contrast to the turbulence unfolding at UCT, where two controversial council resolutions on Israel and Gaza, adopted in June 2024, have triggered a high court challenge, major donor withdrawals and escalating concerns about academic freedom. The case has revealed how a small activist faction has come to dominate policy decisions, often at the expense of students, staff and the university’s own global standing.
The South African academic delegation to Israel shows a different path: one grounded in scholarly exchange rather than political theatre. If South Africa hopes to maintain world-class universities we must allow academia to be a bridge, not a battleground.
Daniel Jacobi
South African Friends of Israel
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