Towards implementation of the Gaza resolutions

Dear colleagues and students

A working group of the University of Cape Town (UCT) Senate has been established to develop a proposal regarding how what have become known as the Gaza Resolutions can be operationalised.

We would like to hear from you about what difficulties you foresee encountering in the implementation of the resolutions in your role, or questions you have in relation to the application of the resolutions within your context. Please try to be as specific as you can with concrete examples which will make the task of assembling guidance easier.

We will use this feedback to help ensure that the proposal we develop is able to provide the necessary guidance across all your contexts. Your feedback will ensure that we better understand the nuances involved in the implementation of the resolutions.

• Provide anonymous feedback via a Microsoft Form.

Once the Senate Working Group has developed draft guidelines, as informed by your contributions, members of the university community will be invited to a meeting where additional input can be provided.

Please finalise your contribution via the form by Friday, 28 November 2025.

The two resolutions of the Senate, as adopted by Council on 22 June 2024, are reproduced below for your convenience.

1. Resolution on the destruction of scholarship and education in Gaza

As per minutes of the Senate meeting of 23 February 2024:

This Senate therefore resolves as follows:

1. Call, again, for an immediate ceasefire, the passage of humanitarian aid and the return of all captives as contained in the Senate's resolution of 17 November.
2. Condemn the destruction of the education sector in Gaza and the massive scale of killing of teachers and university staff in the current war.
3. Urge the international community to ensure that the provision of humanitarian aid includes the restoration of the education sector in Gaza.
4. Express our concern and opposition to any attempts to curtail academic freedom by labelling criticism of Israel or Zionist policies as antisemitism.
5. Reject the IHRA’s conflation of critique of Zionism and Israel’s policies as antisemitism in favour of the Jerusalem Declaration’s dynamic understanding of what constitutes antisemitism.
6. Express our support for academic colleagues in Gaza who are surviving under appalling conditions and our intention to assist in the rebuilding of the academic sector after the war.
7. Express our solidarity with academic colleagues victimised for their willingness to speak out against the educaracide in Gaza.

2. Resolution to disallow research collaborations with members of the Israeli Defence Force

As per minutes of the Senate meeting of 23 February 2024:

UCT Senate resolves that no UCT academic may enter into relations, or continue relations with, any research group and/or network whose author affiliations are with the Israeli Defence Force, and/or the broader Israeli military establishment.

Thank you for taking the time to document the specific challenges that you envisage in your context when you consider how these two resolutions can be implemented.

Sincerely

Professor Brandon Collier-Reed
Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning

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