South African Jews to host traumatized Israeli youth

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Operation Shalom Bayit is a campaign initiated by pro-Israeli activist Brenda Stern from Johannesburg, South Africa. The campaign aims to bring traumatized Israeli youth from southern Israel to Jewish, South African summer camps in December of this year.

Some 20 teens from Sderot, Ashdod, Ashkelon and Netivot will travel to South Africa and enjoy a relaxing time following years of stress and anxiety caused by constant rocket attacks on southern Israel.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4312924,00.html

 

[eots]

Links between other SA universities and their counterparts in Israel are now likely to come under the scrutiny of boycott campaigners.
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Links between other South African universities and their counterparts in Israel are now likely to come under the scrutiny of boycott campaigners, following the University of Johannesburg’s landmark decision on Wednesday to sever ties with Israel’s Ben-Gurion University.

UJ research professor Steven Friedman told the Mail & Guardian on Thursday that “there is a discussion developing” at the University of Cape Town (UCT). “Colleagues there tell me that the question of links has come up,” he said.

UCT denied having any institutional links with Israeli universities. Muhammed Desai of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Working Group, said that he, too, had learned that a university in the province “may have links to a university in Israel”.

Brenda Stern, spokesperson of the South African Associates of Ben-Gurion, told the Times newspaper that “we will continue our projects with other, more important universities in the country.” However, she refused to confirm to the M&G that Ben-Gurion had links with other South African institutions. The organisation’s president, Bertie Lubner, said it had nothing to say on the matter at present.

UJ’s decision to cut ties comes six months after 400 prominent South Africans, including John Dugard and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, signed a petition calling on UJ to cut its ties with Ben-Gurion, claiming it was assisting the Israeli military. The university then gave the Israeli institution six months to meet two conditions: that Ben-Gurion draw up an agreement for joint research with a Palestinian university, chosen with the involvement of UJ, and that UJ “will not engage in any activities with Ben-Gurion that have direct or indirect military implications”.

More universities to query Israeli links as UJ severs ties | Education | Mail & Guardian