Birzeit University Honors South Africa’s Ambassador and Holds a Lecture on South Africa’s Appeal in the ICJ

Birzeit University’s President Dr. Talal Shahwan Hosted South Africa’s Ambassador to Palestine Shaun Byneveldt on Tuesday March 5, 2024.

Dr. Shahwan expressed Birzeit University and the Palestinians’ appreciation for South Africa’s historical action of going to the ICJ to appeal against the Zionist occupation in the midst of its genocidal war on Gaza.

The president also researched methods of enhancing the academic cooperation between the two countries, highlighting Birzeit’s cooperation with South African universities, especially Johannesburg University, due to the parallel research topics around liberating knowledge in the face of colonization.

The ambassador reaffirmed South Africa and Palestine’s linked fate, reiterating that both countries have shared the same suffering; wishing for Palestine’s freedom in the near future. They highlighted all this under the Zulu word ‘Ubuntu’ that means: I am because you are. They used the term to state, “I am because of Palestine, I am because of the Palestinian child in Gaza, I am because of the student in Birzeit University”.

They also stressed the reason for their country’s appeal; it stems from a humanitarian and ethical stance, saying, “For those who seem surprised about why we went to the ICJ for Palestine, it is because you do not understand our history, our suffering and the apartheid. We did this for the suffering child in Gaza, and we will never be truly free unless the Palestinians are liberated”.

The lecture was also held in cooperation with Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Institute of International Studies. Its director, Lourdes Habash reiterated her vast appreciation for South Africa’s role in support of Palestine, its countering of the Israeli crimes in the ICJ, and its irrefutable evidence of the genocide the Zionist occupation commits in Gaza. Recalling the words of the late Nelson Mandela in the first days of South Africa’s liberation, “we in South Africa would not be truly free until Palestine was free.”

The lecture concluded in Dr. Shahwan presenting the ambassador with a medal of honor in appreciation  for their country’s historical stance.