NZFOI: This article describes Student for Justice in Palestine’s (SJP) campaign to have an Israeli government academic prize withdrawn. It is a step toward mounting further pressure on the Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) to adopt BDS. Salient is the VUW weekly student magazine.
On Thursday, 16 May, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) held a meeting at Berrigan House to protest a scholarship for essays on the Israeli State—a state whose political systems they say are inherently “racist” and “brutal”.
The Embassy of Israel Prize in Political Science and International Relations is listed on Victoria’s website through the Department of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations. The $250 scholarship is awarded to one student per year on the merit of an essay on one of the given topics—including ”Israel and the Middle East”, ”Israel’s bilaterial relations with its neighbours”, and ”Israel’s democracy in the context of the Middle East”. The winner is selected by the Head of Department, and the winning essay “may be provided” to the Ambassador.
In the wake of a century of fighting between Israelis and Palestinians, US interventions have failed to produce peace. Israel’s continued presence in Gaza and the West Bank—including building settlements illegally in Palestinian territory, restricting the flow of commercial goods to Palestine, and denying Palestinians the right to vote—has sparked an international protest movement. Proponents are calling for boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against the Israeli state.
Many universities in the US, Canada, and New Zealand have SJP groups which promote BDS on their campuses. Victoria is not currently participating in BDS protest, and maintains ties with Israeli universities. Lecturers from these universities have appeared on Kelburn campus, drawing criticism.
SJP at VUW are calling for the university to terminate the prize, calling VUW’s partnership with Israel “unjust” because the political climate in Israel is “directly comparable” to Apartheid South Africa.
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