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SASL Star: Peet Jacobs

22 September 2021 | Story Michelle Nöthling | Photo Supplied

Peet Jacobs is no stranger to the Deaf community in and around the UFS and Bloemfontein. He has been working at the University of the Free State (UFS) for the past six years, and he is still amazed at the amount of support our institution provides to Deaf students in particular, and to South African Sign Language (SASL) in general. “They provide excellent interpreting services,” Peet says, “not only in face-to-face classes, but also on different online platforms, as well as interpreting pre-recorded lectures and videos.” And as a SASL interpreter, Peet is an integral part of this service.

But signing is not merely a day job for Peet. He carries his skill into the community in his spare time, where he assists as an interpreter at hospitals, doctors’ rooms, and psychiatrists’ offices – to name but a few. What gives Peet the deepest satisfaction, however, is when he can combine his love of Sign Language with his love of the Bible and his God. It was actually Peet’s devotion to his religion that inspired him to learn Sign Language in order to enable him to carry the Word of God into the Deaf community. Peet now also presents Bible courses in SASL and assists a non-profit organisation to produce SASL Bible-based publications, which are translated and recorded in video format.

Peet aspires to become an authority on SASL subject-specific vocabulary related to subject in higher education. “Sign Language is a language in its own right,” Peet points out. “The uniqueness of Deaf culture and the variety of dialects within SASL give the language diversity and colour.” Peet goes on to emphasise how important it is that SASL is recognised as an official language in our country. “This recognition will give dignity to a group of people who have been marginalised in South Africa. This will also pave the way to providing more inclusivity and service to the Deaf community.”

Until then, Peet will continue to serve the best way he knows how: through signing.

News Archive

Drawing Fire: Investigating the Accusations of Apartheid in Israel

2014-08-14

Benjamin Pogrund
Photo: mg.co.za

Renowned journalist Benjamin Pogrund led a seminar on the current Israel/Palestine conflict in Gaza. The Department of Political Science hosted the event at the Bloemfontein Campus on 11 August 2014.

The discussion mainly centred around points Pogrund explores in his latest book, ‘Drawing Fire: Investigating the Accusations of Apartheid in Israel’.

Pogrund, who spent 26 years as a journalist in South Africa investigating apartheid, investigated the accusation that Israel is practicing apartheid and the motives of those who make it. His talk offered the audience a balanced view of Israel’s strengths and weaknesses and the problems facing the region. Pogrund drew a unique comparison between South Africa and Israel, explaining the complex political and social situations.

While researching and writing ‘Drawing Fire’, Pogrund experienced an intense emotional struggle. In the book, he explores the contradictions found in the region. It also deconstructs the criticisms against Israel as well as the boycott movement before arguing for two separate states – Israel and Palestine – as the only way forward for Jews and Arabs.

During the talk, Pogrund raised the question as to why the media coverage of Israel/Palestine conflict detracts so much attention away from the atrocities committed by ISIS currently terrorising the minority groups in Syria and Iraq.

Pogrund has been living in Israel for the past 15 years where he reports on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He was the deputy editor of the Rand Daily Mail – South Africa’s leading anti-apartheid newspaper during the 1980s. Among other publications, he has written for the Guardian (London), Haaretz (Tel Aviv) and Facta (Tokyo). In May 2013, he was awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Media Council in London, on behalf of the Next Century Foundation, for encouraging understanding of the Middle East and war-torn areas of the world.

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