STATEMENT: MUSLIM STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION SUPPORTS ISRAELI APARTHEID WEEK

The Muslim Students’ Association of South Africa (MSA) - in its commitment to justice, freedom and equality – has pledged its full support to the 9th international Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) campaign. IAW is a global series of events and campaigns that take place in cities, campuses and communities across the world and aims to raise awareness of Israel’s apartheid policies towards the Palestinian people and serves to promote Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. IAW will take place from the 11 - 17 March in South Africa.

MSA realises the massive importance of IAW in furthering the Palestinian struggle for liberation and thus, in addition to support, is playing an active role in the campaign by forming part of the IAW national steering committee. We will also be hosting events and campaigns on our campuses across the country.

In the spirit of IAW we will reaffirm our stance on Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions as a constructive means of achieving liberation for the people of Palestine. BDS is a global movement that aims to isolate Israel until it complies with international law and ends its apartheid policies. We realise, in addition, that we, as a Muslim community in particular, need to move away from the charity framing of the Palestinian struggle and acknowledge that this is a political story of resistance against oppression and all forms of other injustices that violate basic human rights.

MSA acknowledges and echos many of our South African leaders and struggle icons such as: Ahmed Kathrada, Kader Asmal, Blade Nzimande, Zwelinzima Vavi and Winnie Mandela who have compared Apartheid South Africa to current day Israel. We also acknowledge cases made by the SA Human Sciences Research Council, Russell Tribunal on Palestine and the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination that support this comparison.

MSA has joined numerous other organisations, including: South African Union of Students, Jamiat-Ul-Ulema, Congress of South African Trade Unions, Muslim Judicial Council, ANC Youth League and South African Council of Churches in its support of IAW. We lend our support to IAW in the same spirit that we do for the people of Sudan, Burma, Syria, Zimbabwe and other people who are victims of injustice and oppression. Indeed, this principled spirit will continue to be our approach to the Palestinian struggle.

In addition, we urge all our chapters, constituents and supporters to participate and get involved in Israeli Apartheid Week on your campuses, communities and cities.

For more information on IAW South Africa and ways to get involved, see the link here: http://www.bdssouthafrica.com/2011/02/israeli-apartheid-week.html.

For the complete IAW South Africa schedule, you can view the link here: http://www.bdssouthafrica.com/2011/02/iaw-2013-full-schedule-and-speaking.html

Statement issued by Yusuf Talia, President and Sumayya Omar, Political Officer of the MSA Union of South Africa

Yusuf Talia : yusuf.talia@gmail.com / 071-677-2391

Sumayya Omar: sumz01@hotmail.co.za / 071-456-5104

**The Muslim Students' Association (MSA) was established in 1973. It has grown to be one of the largest student representative bodies in South Africa. The MSA aims to assist in developing students and creating an active citizenship. This is done by developing structures to create a national and influential student representative body, leadership development programs, advocating for social, political and economic justice through campaigns, social projects and humanitarian initiatives that are all student based.