PACBI Statement

Campaign to Boycott the Oral History Conference at Hebrew University of Jerusalem

December 5, 2013

Note: In light of the recent withdrawal of the two international keynote speakers, as noted below, the text of the original letter/boycott call of 8/12/2013 has been revised and re- formatted. The signatures are current. 

Note: In light of the recent withdrawal of the two international keynote speakers, as noted below, the text of the original letter/boycott call of 8/12/2013 has been revised and re- formatted. The signatures are current. 

Dear Colleagues:

We are Palestinian, Israeli and other oral historians and academics from Europe, South Africa, Oceana, Asia, and the Americas calling on you to boycott the June 2014 ‘International’ Oral History Conference being organized by The Oral History Division of the Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Those of you who have signed the appeal already will be pleased to know that the two main international scholars who had agreed to deliver keynote addresses at conference, Alessandro Portelli and Mary Clark, have withdrawn.  

However, the reasons for the boycott remain unchanged. And while all Israeli universities are deeply complicit in the occupation, settler-colonialism, and apartheid, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is particularly noteworthy.

  • The land on which some of its Mount Scopus campus buildings and facilities were expanded was acquired as a result of Israel’s 1968 illegal confiscation of 3345 dunums of Palestinian land, land which is deemed occupied territory under international law. Israel‘s unilateral annexation of occupied East Jerusalem and the application of Israeli domestic law to it, are violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and have been repeatedly denounced by the UN Security Council (Resolution 252, 21 May 1968).[1]
  • It maintains close ties to the Israeli military industry, which is accused of war crimes against Palestinian civilians; provides special privileges to Israeli soldiers and security personnel; and collaborates with the Israeli army in training officers and recruits. [1A]
  • It discriminates against Palestinians, including those who are citizens of Israel by, among other things, : does not providing  teaching services to the residents of Jerusalem and the surrounding areas in contrast to those provided to Jewish groups; and not offering any courses in Arabic.[2][3]
  • It denies freedom of speech and protest to its few Palestinian students as evidenced by the prohibition of a commemoration event during the 2008-2009 invasion of the Gaza Strip during which approximately 1,400 Palestinians were killed; at the same time, offering special consideration and benefits to students who participated in that invasion. [4]
  • The staff from the Hebrew University takes part in the supervision and promotion committees of students and staff at Ariel University, which was established on confiscated Palestinian land in West Bank. [5]
  • It does not recognize degrees awarded by the Palestinian Al-Quds University in Jerusalem while those awarded by the Ariel University in an illegal colony are recognized.

 

At a time when the international movement to boycott Israeli academic and cultural institutions is gaining ground in response to Israel’s flagrant and persistent infringement of Palestinian human and political rights, we urge scholars and professionals to reflect upon the implications of taking part in a conference at a complicit institution, and to refrain from such participation. The conference is an attempt to improve the image and reputation of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the West and to cover up for the fact that the university is closely associated with Israeli annexation and ‘Separation/Apartheid Wall’ policies—policies that were strongly condemned on 9 July 2004 by the International Court of Justice in The Hague.[6]

We believe that the only avenue open to achieving justice and upholding international law is sustained work on the part of Palestinian and international civil society to put pressure on Israel and its complicit institutions to end this oppression.  Accordingly, we call on the international community to honor the 2004 Call of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) to boycott academic and cultural institutions involved in Israel’s system of occupation, colonialism and apartheid and its appeal to “refrain from participation in any form of academic and cultural cooperation, collaboration or joint projects with Israeli institutions” [7]

Until Israel fully complies with international laws and conventions, we urge international academics not to participate in endorsing Israel’s violations and the basic human rights of Palestinians – even if inadvertently. We call on our colleagues to treat Israel exactly the same way that most of the world treated racist South Africa - as a pariah state. Only then can Palestinians hope for a just peace based on international law, respect for human rights, and, more crucially, on the fundamental principle of equality for all, irrespective of ethnicity, religion or other identity considerations. 

We, therefore, call on you to boycott the Hebrew University of Jerusalem oral history conference and to call on your colleagues to refuse to participate in it; to refuse to cross what is, in effect, a Palestinian picket line.  

 

[Note: All footnotes are at the end of the document following a note on academic freedom.]

Sincerely,

1.     Professor Ahmed Abbes, Directeur de Recherche au CNRS, Bures-sur-Yvette, France

2.     Professor  Saleh Abdel Jawad (Hamayel), Birzeit University, Palestine

3.     Dr. Stéphanie Latte Abdallah, ; Researcher, French Institute for the Near East ( IFPO) Jerusalem, Palestine

4.     Dr. Adnan Abdelrazek - The Arab Studies Society – Jerusalem, Palestine

5.     Professor Nahla Abdo Carleton University, Ottawa Canada

6.     Dr. Faiha Abdulhadi, Independent researcher, writer, poet, Palestine

7.     Professor Rabab Ibrahim Abdulhadi, Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Initiative - College of Ethnic Studies, San Francisco State University, USA

8.     Hala Caroline Abou-Zaki, Phd Student, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris, France

9.     Line Abou Zaki, Clinical psychologist, Lebanon

10. Professor Nadia Abu el Haj, Barnard/Columbia University, USA

11. Professor Saed Abu-Hijleh, An-Najah National University Nablus, Palestine 

12. Professor Lila Abu-Lughod, Columbia University, New York, USA

13. Dr. Salman Abu Sitta, Researcher, UK

14. Professor Nadia Abu- Zahra, University of Ottawa, Canada

15. ProfessorCristina Accornero, Università di Torino, Italy

16. Professor Ghada Ageel, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

17. Professor Mumtaz Ahmad, Vice President (Academic Affairs), International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan 

18. Mazen Mustafa AlAbadlah, Al-Aqsa University, Palestine

19. Akkas Al-Ali, PhD candidate, University of Exeter, UK 

20. Dr. Anaheed Al-Hardan, ICI Berlin Institute for Cultural Inquiry, Germany

21. Professor Bayan Nuwayhed al-Hout, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon  

22. Majeda Al-Saqqa, Culture and Free Thought Association, Khan Younis, Gaza, Palestine

23. Professor (emeritus) Mateo Alaluf, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium

24. Professor Ammiel Alcalay, Queens College, City of New York, USA

25. Dr. Diana Allan, Society for the Humanities, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA

26. Professor Lori Allen, University of Cambridge, England

27. Professor Nina Allen, Suffolk University, Boston, USA

28. Dr. Valentina Anastasi, Independent researcher, Catania, Italy 

29. Professor Marcos Ancelovici, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM), Canada

30. ProfessorRachad Antonius, University of Quebec Montreal (UQAM), Canada

31. Dr.  Miriyam Aouragh, CAMRI, University of Westminster, UK 

32. Professor (emeritus) Nasser Aruri, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, USA

33. Professor (retired) William Ayers, University of Illinois-Chicago; Cyprus Oral History Project, USA

34. Professor Alice Bach (retired), Archbishop Hallinan Professor of Religious Studies,
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH, USA

35. Professor Angelo Baracca, University of Florence, Italy

36. Gustavo Barbosa, PhD candidate, London School of Economics, UK

37. Professor Amjad Barham, Hebron University, President of the Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees, Palestine

38. Ryvka Barnard, Doctoral student, New York University, USA

39. Professor Javier Barreda, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain

40. Professor Isaías Barreñada, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Spain

41. Professor Enrico Bartolomei, University of Macerata, Italy

42. Professor Munir Bashour, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

43. Professor Oren Ben-Dor, Southampton University, England

44. Julie Benedetto, student, Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Lyon, France

45. Specialist Israel Morales Benito, University of Alicante, Spain

46. Bonita Bennett, Director, District Six Museum, Capetown, South Africa

47. David Beorlegui, PhD candidate,  Basque Country University, Spain

48. ProfessorDan Berger, University of Washington Bothell, USA

49. Dr. Rima Berns-McGown, Independent Researcher/Adjunct Professor, University of Toronto, Canada

50. Professor Doris Bittar,  California State University San Marcos, USA

51. Professor Dusan I. Bjelic, Department of Criminology, University of Southern Maine, USA

52. Professor Maylei Blackwell, Departments of Chicana/o Studies, and Gender Studies, UCLA, USA

53. Dr. Susan Blackwell, Independant language consultant, Birmingham UK

54. Professor Hagit Borer, Queen Mary, University of London, England

55. Professor (emerita) Joanna Bornat , Open University, UK

56. Dr. Samia Botmeh, Birzeit University, Palestine

57. Professor Glenn Bowman, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

58. Dr. Robert Boyce, London School of Economics and Political Science, London University, UK

59. Professor Haim Bresheeth, SOAS, University of London, England

60. Dr. Khaldun Bshara, scholar, Riwaq Centre, Ramallah, Palestine 

61. Professor (emeritus) Jacques Bude, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium

62. Professor Judith Butler, University of California, Berkeley, USA

63. Professor Angeles Castaño Madroñal, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain

64. Ines Castellano Picón,Phd Student, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain

65. Professor Jesús M. Castillo, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain

66. Professor John Chalcraft, London School of Economics, UK 

67. Professor Iain Chambers, Università degli Studi di Napoli, "L‘Orientale," Italy

68. Professor  Michael Chanan, University of Roehampton, England

69. Professor Elise Chenier, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada

70. Dr Indira Chowdhury, IOHA Council member; Centre for Public History - Bangalore, India

71. Nikoletta Christodoulou, Frederick University, Nicosia; Cyprus Oral History Project, Cyprus

72. Professor (retired) Raymonde Cloutier, University of Quebec (UQAM), Montreal,  Canada

73. ProfessorElliott Colla, Georgetown University, USA       

74. Dr. Jane Collings, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

75. Dr Peter Collins, St Mary’s University College, Belfast, Ireland

76. Prof. Dr. David Mario Comedi, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Argentina

77. Professor Miriam Cooke, Braxton Craven Professor of Arab Cultures, Duke University, USA

78. Susan Currie, PhD student, Central Queensland University, Australia

79. Mike Cushman, Independent researcher, London, England

80. Professor Hamid Dabashi, Columbia University, New York, USA

81. Professor Nabil Dajani,  American University of Beirut, Lebanon

82. Professor Edwin Daniel (emeritus) University of Alberta Canada

83. Professor (emeritus) Eric David, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium

84. Professor Lawrence Davidson, West Chester University, USA

85. Mary Ellen Davis, Instructor, School of Cinema, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

86. Dr. Rochelle Davis, Georgetown University, USA

87. Dr. Uri Davis, AL-QUDS University, Jerusalem, Palestine

88. Professor (emerita) Sonia  Dayan-Herzbrun,  Université Paris, France

89. Professor Lara Deeb, Scripps College, USA

90. Professor Herman De Ley, Ghent University, Belgium 

91. Prof Philippe Denis, Sinomlando Centre for Oral History and Memory Work in Africa, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

92. Rafel Gustavo de Oliveira,  MSc student, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil

93. Professor Angeles Diez Rodriguez, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain

94. Professor Anne-Marie Dillens, University Saint-Louis, Brussels, Belgium             

95. Professor John Docker, University of Sydney, Australia

96. Professor Chris Dole, Amherst College, USA

97. ProfessorAngelod’Orsi, University of Turin, Italy

98. Professor Ann Douglas, Columbia University, New York, USA

99. Professor Laurence Dreyfus, University of Oxford, UK

100.   Professor (emeritus)John Dugard, University of Leiden; Honorary Professor of Law, Uof Pretoria, South Africa

101.   Professor Louise Edwards-Simpson, Project Director, Voices of Homelessness, St. Catherine UniversitySt Paul, Minnesota, USA

102.   Professor Haidar Eid, Al-Aqsa University, Gaza, Palestine

103.   ProfessorPaul Eid, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada (UQAM)

104.   Yasmine Eid-Sabbagh, PhD-candidate, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Austria.

105.   Oroub El-Abed, Senior Teaching Fellow SOAS, London University, UK

106.   Professor Nada Elia, Antioch University-Seattle, Washington, USA

107.   Professor Mary Fakher-Eldin, University College, Dublin, Ireland 

108.   Professor Hoda Elsadda, Cairo University, Egypt

109.   Professor Samera Esmeir, University of California, Berkeley, USA

110.   Professor Ghazi-Walid Falah, University of Akron, Ohio, USA

111.   Professor Laila Farah, DePaul University, USA

112.   Professor Randa Farah, University of Western Ontario, Canada

113.   Professor (emeritus), Emmanuel Farjoun, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem,  Israel

114.   Dr. Adel Farrag, (retired) Institute of Technology Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland

115.   Professor Mona Fawaz, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

116.   Professor(emeritus) Sasan Fayazmanesh, California State University, Fresno, USA

117.   Professor Ilana Feldman, George Washington University, USA

118.   Dr. Sean Field, Historical Studies Department, University of Cape Town, South Africa

119.   Arie Finkelstein, student, Université  Paris Est, France

120.   Professor Ellen Fleischmann, University of Dayton, Ohio, USA

 

121.         Senior Scholar Bill Fletcher, Jr., Institute for Policy Studies; former President, TransAfrica Forum, USA

122.   Professor Manzar Foroohar, California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, USA

123.   Professor (emeritus) Giorgio Forti, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy

124.   Dr. Naomi Foyle, Coordinator of British Writers In Support of Palestine, UK       

125.   Professor Cynthia Franklin, University of Hawaiʻi, USA

126.   Daniela Fuentealba Rubio, Investigator/archivist, Museum of Memory and Human Rights, Chile

127.   Professor Candace Fujikane, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, USA

128.   Professor Nell Gabiam Iowa State University, USA

129.   Professor (retired) Rosemary Galli, Observatorio das Nacionalidades, Brazil

130.   Professor Jose Maria Gago Gonzalez, Member, Seminario de Fuentes Orales, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain

131.   Professor (emerita)Irene L. Gendzier, Boston University, USA    

132.   Professeur des Ecoles (en retraite) Marie Gérôme,  Ecole de Viuz,  Faverges, France

133.   Professor Julie Gervais, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France 

134.   Khalil Mohammad Gharra – student, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Occupied Palestine

135.   Ana Ghoreishian, PhD student, University of Arizona, USA

136.   Professor Rita Giacaman, Birzeit University, Palestine

137.   Dr. Terri Ginsberg, ICMES, New York, USA

138.   Professor (emerita) Sherna Berger Gluck, California State University, Long Beach, USA

139.   Professor Paula Godinho,Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal

140.   Professor Heather Goodall, University of Technology Sydney, Australia

141.   Professor (emeritus)  Yerach Gover, City University of New York, USA 

142.   Professor Michel Gros,  CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research,  Rennes, France

143.   Professor Regina Beatriz Guimarães Neto. Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; 2006-2008 President Brazilian Oral History Association, 2008-2010/Brazil

144.   Professor Yvonne Haddad, Georgetown University, USA

145.   Professor Ghassan Joseph Hage, University of Melbourne, Australia

146.   Professor (emerita) Elaine Hagopian, Simmons College, Boston, USA

147.   Dr. Andrea Hajek, University of Glasgow, UK

148.   Professor (emerita) Sondra Hale, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

149.   Emad Hamdeh, PhD student, Exeter University, UK

150.   Lecturer Rola Hamed, University College,  Cork, Ireland

151.   Professor Carrie Hamilton, University of Roehampton, UK

152.   Dr. Rema Hammami, Birzeit University, Palestine

153.   Professor Sari Hanafi, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

154.   Karen S. Harper, community oral historian, Historical Society of Long Beach, California, USA

155.   Professor Michael Harris, Université  Paris-Diderot, France

156.   Dr. Jason Hart, Senior lecturer, University of Bath UK

157.   ProfessorRumy Hassan, University of Sussex, UK

158.   Professor Salah D. Hassan, Michigan State University, Lansing, USA

159.   Professor Frances Hasso, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA

160.   Milton Hatoum,  writer, translator and professor, Brazil 

161.   Professor Laia Haurie, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

162.   Karim Hauser Askalani, Journalist, Casa Árabe Consortium, Madrid, Spain

163.   Dr Mahmoud Hawari, Khalili Research Centre, University of Oxford, UK

164.   Professor Desiree E. Hellegers, Washington State University Vancouver, Washington, USA

165.   Professor Sami Hermez, University of Pittsburgh, USA

166.   Professor ElenaHernández SandoicaUniversidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain

167.   Shir Hever, Independent Economist/Researcher, Palestine-Israel

168.   Professor (emeritus) Nicholas Hopkins, American University-Cairo, Egypt

169.   Professor Nubar Hovsepian, Chapman University, Orange, California, USA

170.   Professor (emeritus ) Heinz Hurwitz, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium

171.   Professor  Takeji Ino, Wayo Women’s University, Japan   

172.   Perla Issa, PhD candidate, Exeter University, UK

173.   Kumiko Isumisawa, Chief Librarian, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan

174.   Professor Ferran Izquierdo Brichs, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain

175.   Dr Hana Jaber,  Histoire du Monde arabe contemporain, Collège de France, Paris, France

176.   Professor Richard Jackson, National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Otago, NZ

177.   Hazem Jamjoum, PhD student, New York University, USA/Palestine

178.   Dr. Colleen Jankovic, US Film Scholar, Al-qaws organization, AlQuds/Jerusalem, Palestine

179.   Tineke E. Jansen, Independent researcher, former IOHA Council member, England

180.   Professor Maher Jarrar, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

181.   Dr.Lena Jayyusi, Researcher, author, Palestine

182.   Chrischene Julius, Collections, Research and Documentation Dept District Six Museum, South Africa

183.   Professor Ray Jureidini, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon

184.   Professor Sharif Kanaana (retired), Birzeit University, Palestine

185.   Professor Rhoda Kanaaneh, Columbia University, New York, USA

186.   Samar Kanafani, PhD Candidate, University of Manchester, UK

187.   Professor, J. Kehaulani Kauanui, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, USA

188.   Dr. Fatma Kassem, Independent researcher, Israel

189.   Professor Robin D. Kelley, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

190.   Emma Jean Kelly, PhD Candidate, Auckland University of Technology, Aotearoa New Zealand

191.   Dr. Bryan Kelly, Queens University, Belfast, N. Ireland

192.   Professor Emeritus Douglas Kerr, Case Western Reserve University, USA

193.   Professor Amy Kesselman(emerita),State University of New York at New Paltz, USA

194.   Dr. Abdulhadi Khalaf (retired) Center of Middle East Studies, Lund University, Sweden

195.   Professor Muhammad Ali Khalidi, York University, Canada

 

196.   Professor Tarif Khalidi, Center for Arab & ME Studies, American University, Beirut Lebanon

197.   Professor Asem Khalil, Birzeit University, Palestine

198.   Dr. Laleh Khalili, Reader in Politics, SOAS, University of London, England

199.   Dr. Agnes Khoo, Visiting Research Fellow, University of Leeds, UK

200.   Dr. Miyuki Kinjo, Post-doctoral researcher (Palestine/Israel), Ritsumeikan University, Japan

201.   Professor Gary Kinsman, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Canada

202.   Professor David Klein, California State University, Northridge, USA

203.   Dr. Felipe Gustavo Koch Buttelli, Lecturer in the Religions Science Faculty, Regional University of Blumenau (FURB), Brazil

204.   Dr. Dennis Kortheuer, California State University, Long Beach, USA

205.   Professor Rubén Kotler,Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Argentina

206.   Professor Eileen Kuttab, Birzeit University, Palestine

207.   Professor Hidemitsu Kuroki, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Japan

208.   Dr. C S Lakshmi,  SPARROW Sound & Picture Archives for Research on Women, Mumbai India

209.   Dr David Landy, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

210.   Professor Nadia Latif, Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA

211.   ProfessorBonita Lawrence (Mi‘kmaw), Indigenous Studies, York University, Canada

212.   Zoe Lawlor, University of Limerick Language Centre, Ireland

213.   Dr. Clint LeBruyns, Theology and Development Program, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

 

214.         Professor Ronit Lentin, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

215.   Dr. Les Levidow, Open University, UK

216.   Professor Miren Llona, Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea; former Council member, IOHA, Spain

217.   Professor David Colles Lloyd, University of California, Riverside

218.   Dr. Elisabeth Longuenesse, (CNRS) Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin en Yvelines, France

219.   Professor Maria Losé Lera, Seville University, Spain

220.   Arab Lotfi, film maker, university lecturer, journalist, writer, Lebanon

221.   Professor (emeritus) Moshé Machover, Kings College, University of London, England

222.   Dr. Alex Lubin, Director, Center for American Studies and Research, American University of Beirut; University of New Mexico (on leave) – USA/Lebanon

223.   Dr. Kenneth Macnab (retired), University of Sydney, Australia

224.   John Marquez, PhD Student,  University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA

225.   Hala Marshood, Student, Humanities Faculty, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Occupied Palestine

226.   Dr. Michael Marten, Lecturer in Postcolonial Studies and Religion, University of Stirling, Scotland

227.   Professor Rocio Medina Martin, Universidad Pablo de Olavide Sevilla, España

228.   Professor Nur Masalha, SOAS, University of London, England

229.   Dr. Norma Masriyyeh, Bethlehem University, Palestine

230.   Professor Joseph Massad, Columbia University, New York, USA

231.   Marie-eve Mathieu,  teacher,  Édouard-Montpetit College, Canada

232.   Professor Dina Mattar, SOAS, University of London, England

233.   Dr. Rachel Mattson, public historian, archivist, educator, New York, USA

234.   Professor (lecturer) Mary McDonald-Rissanen University of Tampere,  Finland 

235.   Des McGuinness, School of Communications, Dublin City University, Ireland

236.   Dr. Bill McSweeney, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

237.   Dr. Daniel Meier, University of Oxford, UK

238.   Dr. Willem Meijs, independent language consultant, Birmingham, UK

239.   Mar Gijon Mendigutia, PhD candidate, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Spain,

240.   Professor Anne Meneley, Trent University, Canada

241.   Meena R. Menon, author and oral historian, Delhi, India

242.   Professor Laurie K. Mercier, Washington State University Vancouver, USA

243.   Professor William Messing, University of Minnesota, USA

244.   Jennifer Mogannam, Ph. D. candidate, University of California, San Diego

245.   Professor  Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Syracuse University, New York, USA

246.   Professor Shahrzad Mojab, University of Toronto, Canada

247.   Professor Antonio Montenegro, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Brazil

248.   Professor Annalies Moors,Amsterdam Institute of Social Science Research, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands

249.   Professor Amir Mufti, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

250.   Professor Ahlam Muhtaseb, California State University, San Bernardino, USA

251.   Professor Suroopa Mukherjee,  University of Delhi,  India-

252.   Dr. Corinna Mullin, University of Tunis, Tunisia

253.   Professor (emerita) Martha Mundy, London School of Economics, UK

254.   Dr. M.J. Muskens, University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands

255.   Professor Cynthia Myntti, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

256.   Dr. Karma Nabulsi, University of Oxford, UK

257.   Professor Premilla Nadasen, Queens College, City of New York, USA

258.   Professor Eiji Nagasawa, Vice Director, Institute for Advanced Study on Asia, The University of Tokyo, Japan

259.   Dr. Khalil Nakhleh, researcher and writer, Palestine

260.   Dr. Dorothy Naor, Independent researcher, Israel

261.   Professor Salem H. Nasser, São Paulo School of Law of Fundação Getúlio Vargas), Brazil

262.   Dr. Marcy Newman, Independent Scholar, India

263.   Dr. Sonia Nimr, Birzeit University, Palestine

264.   Professor Isis Nusair, Denison University, Ohio, USA

265.   Dr Barra O’Donnabhain, University College Cork, Ireland

266.   Dr. Féilim Ó’Hadhmaill,  University College Cork, Ireland

267.   Professor Mari Oka, Kyoto University, Japan

268.   Professor Gary Y. Okihiro, Columbia University, New York, USA

269.   Hussein Omar, PhD student, University of Oxford, UK

270.   Imranali Panjwani, PhD student, Kings College, University of London, UK

271.   Professor Ilan Pappe, Exeter University, England

272.   Professor Paul Parker, Baltzer Distinguished Professor of Religion,  Elmhurst College, USA

273.   Dr Nigel Parsons, School of People, Environment & Planning, Massey University, NZ

274.   Dr. Professor Jaime Pastor, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia,  Spain

275.   Professor Willie Van Peer, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany

276.   Dr. Ana Pego, Business and Economic Studies Department, Open University, Lisbon, Portugal

277.   Professor Sylvain Perdigon, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

278.   Professor Julie Peteet, University of Louisville, Kentucky, USA

279.   Dr. Elizabeth Picard, Directeur de Recherche (emerita), National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), France

280.         Professor Gabriel Piterberg, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

281.   David Polden, independent researcher, Committee for Nuclear Disarmament, London, UK

282.   Dr. Nicola Pratt, University of Warwick, UK

 

283.   Dr. Nicolas Puig, Researcher, L‘Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD) France

284.   Dr. Neshat Quaiser, Jamia Millia Islamia, Central University, New Delhi, India

285.   Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh,Bethlehem and Birzeit Universities, Palestine

286.   Dua’a Qurie, Executive Director, The Palestinian NGO Network, Ramallah, Palestine

287.   Jorge Ramos Tolosa, researcher and professor, Universitat de València, Spain

288.    Professor Marwan Rashed, Université de Paris-IV Sorbonne, Paris

289.   Morteza Rasoulipour, Head of Oral History, Institute for Iranian Contemporary Historical Studies, Tehran, Iran

290.   Professor Stuart Rees, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia

291.   Dr. Sophie Richter-Devroe, Exeter University, UK

292.   Professor (emerita) Rosalie Riegle,  Saginaw Valley State University, Michigan, USA

293.   Professor Martina Rieker, American University of Cairo, Egypt

294.   Dr. Rebecca Roberts, Independent scholar, UK

295.   ProfessorLisa Rofel, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA

296.   Professor Ben Rogaly, University of Sussex, UK

297.   Professor Vincent Romani, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Canada

 

298.         Professor (emerita) Hilary Rose, University of Bradford & Gresham College, London, UK

 

299.         Professor (emeritus) Steven Rose, Open University & Gresham College, London, UK

 

300.         Professor Jonathan Rosenhead, London School of Economics, University of London, UK

301.   Dr. Alice Rothchild, MD, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School, USA

302.   Dr. Bashir Saade, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

303.   Professor Hanan Sabea, American University-Cairo, Egypt

304.   Professor Fatima Sadiqi, Senior Professor of Linguistics and Gender Studies; Co-founder, International Institute for Languages and Cultures (INLAC), Fez, Morocco 

305.   Ann Sado, Independent lecturer, former Board member, Japan Oral History Association, Tokyo

306.   Professor (emeritus) Sadao Sakai, Ryukoku University, Kyoto, Japan

307.   Professor Masaki Sakiyama, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan

308.   Anaïs Salamon,  Bibliothécaire en chef, Bibliothèque d’études islamiques de l’Université McGill, Québec, Canada

309.   Professor Ruba Salih, SOAS, University of London, UK

310.   Professor Nisreen Salti, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

311.   Dr. Adel Samara, author, editor Kanaan Review, Occupied Palestine

312.   Mandy Sanger, Education Manager, District Six Museum, Cape Town, South Africa

313.   Dr. Leena Saraste, Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland

314.   Professor Cecilia Sardenberg, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Brazil

315.   Professor Surajit Sarkar - Ambedkar University, Delhi. India

316.   Dr. Rosemary Sayigh, Center for Arab and ME Studies,American University of Beirut, Lebanon

317.   Professor (emeritus) Robert M. Schaible, University of Southern Maine, USA

318.   Professor (emeritus) Pierre Schapira, University Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France

319.   Dr. Leonardo Schiocchet, Guest Researcher, Institute for Social Anthropology at the Austrian Academy of Sciences,  Post-doctoral grantee CAPES, Brazil

320.   Professor Sarah Schulman, ACT UP Oral History Project, New York, USA 

321.   Professor Richard Seaford, University of Exeter, UK

322.   Professor (emerita) Evalyn F. Segal, PhD, San Diego State University, USA

323.   Professor May Seikaly, Wayne State University, Detroit, USA

324.   Professor Sherene Seikaly, American University in Cairo, Egypt

325.   Professor Jihane Sfeir, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium

326.   Dr. Anthony F. Shaker, Visiting Scholar McGill University, Montreal, Canada

327.   Professor Anton Shammas, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

328.   Dorothy Sheridan, Honorary Professor of History (retired), University of Sussex , UK.

329.   Dr. Magid Shihade, Birzeit University, Palestine

330.   ProfessorAlan Louis Shihaden, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

331.   Professor (emeritus) Kazuko Shiojiri, University of Tsukuba;  Tokyo International University; Director, Institute of International Exchange (IIET), Japan

332.   Professor Andor Skotnes, Chair, Dept. of History and Society, The Sage Colleges, Troy, NY, USA

333.   Professor Souad Slim,University of Balamand, Lebanon

334.   Richard Saumarez Smith, Professor, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

335.   Dr. Graham Smith, Oral History Department of History, Royal Holloway, University of London

336.   Dr. Kobi Snitz, Weizmann Institute, Israel

337.   Professor Dean Spade, Seattle University School of Law, Washington, USA

338.   Dr. Jane Starfield, University of Johannesburg, South Africa

339.   Professor Ted Steinberg, Case Western Reserve University, USA

340.   Suzy Subways, SLAM! Herstory Project, New York, NY

341.   Professor Akiko Sugase, National Museum of Ethnology, Japan

342.   Dr. Ziad Suidan, Independent scholar, USA

343.   Dr Mayssun Sukarieh , Fellow, Cogut Center for the Humanities, Brown University. USA.

344.   Sady Sullivan, Independent Oral Historian Brooklyn, New York, USA

345.   Dr. Hitoshi Suzuki, Area Study Center, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan

346.   Professor Paul Tabar, Director, Institute for Migration Studies, Lebanese American Univ., Lebanon

347.   Professor Neferti Tadiar, Barnard College, New York, USA 

348.   Rabah Tahraoui ,Professeur ,Université de Rouen, France

349.   Professor Carlo Taibo, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain

350.   Professor Ghada Talhami, Lake Forest College, Illinois, USA

351.   ProfessorVera Tamari, Birzeit University, Palestine

352.   Professor Lisa Taraki, Birzeit University, Palestine

353.   Sibel Taylor, PhD candidate, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, England

354.   Professor Sunera Thobani, University of British Columbia, Canada

355.   ProfessorSimona Tobia, University of Reading, UK 

356.   Professor (retired) Chizuko Tominaga,  Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University, Japan

357.   Professor Barry Trachtenberg, University of Albany, New York, USA

358.   Professor Judith Tucker, Georgetown University, USA

359.   Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Pro Vice Chancellor Māori, Dean of Te Pua Wānanga ki te Ao The School of Māori and Pacific Development, The University of Waikato, New Zealand

360.   Professor Masaki Uno, Hiroshima City University, Japan

361.   Professor Sharon Utakis, Bronx Community College, City University of New York, USA

362.   Professor C. Utathya, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA

363.   Professor Salim Vally, University of Johannesburg, South Africa

364.   Dr. Toine Van Teeffelen,Arab Educational Institute, Bethlehem, Palestine

365.   Professor Agustin Velloso, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia (UNED) Madrid, Spain

366.   Professor Kamala Visweswaran, University of Texas, USA

367.   Naomi Wallace, Independent scholar, award-winning playwright, UK/USA

368.   Professor Devra Weber, University of California, Riverside, USA

369.   Dr. Livia Celine Wick, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

370.   Professor Mark R. Westmoreland, American University Cairo, Egypt

371.   Professor Johnny Eric Williams, Trinity College, USA

372.   Professor Ulrike Woehr, Hiroshima City University, Hiroshima, Japan

373.   Dr. Patrick Wolfe, Trobe University, Australia

374.   Adel Yahya, Director, Palestinian Association for Cultural Exchange (PACE), Ramallah,  Palestine

375.   Yoshihiro Yakushige, PhD student, Kyoto University, Japan

376.   Dr. Hala Yameni, Bethlehem University, Bethlehem, Palestine

377.   Professor Nadia Yaqub, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA

378.   Professor Masae Yuasa, Hiroshima City University, Hiroshima, Japan

379.   Professor (emeritus)Takehi Yukawa, Keio University,  Japan

380.   Omar Zahzah, PhD student, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

381.   Professor (emeritus) Elia Zureik, Queen’s University, Canada

 

To add your name or organization please email: hebrewuconferenceboycott@gmail.com

 

See below for organizational endorsements

 



Endorsed by the following Academic and Cultural Boycott Campaigns: Academics for Palestine (Ireland); AURDIP (France); BAB (Germany); BOYCOTT! (Israel); BRICUP (UK); InCACBI (India); PACBI (Palestine); PBAI (Spain); USACBI (USA) - and by the Alternative Information Centre (Israel); Groundwell: Oral Historians for Social Change, core working group; Independent Jewish Voices Canada; University of Toronto SJP (Canada); SJP of UCLA  – and by Ronnie Kasrils, former South African government minister, anti-apartheid activist and writer.

 

 

#######################

 

THE NECESSARY AND IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION OF ACADEMIC FREEDOM

The UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights defines academic freedom to include:

the liberty of individuals to express freely opinions about the institution or system in which they work, to fulfill their functions without discrimination or fear of repression by the state or any other actor, to participate in professional or representative academic bodies, and to enjoy all the internationally recognized human rights applicable to other individuals in the same jurisdiction. The enjoyment of academic freedom carries with it obligations, such as the duty to respect the academic freedom of others, to ensure the fair discussion of contrary views, and to treat all without discrimination on any of the prohibited grounds. [10], emphasis added]

Keeping this definition in mind, we are keenly aware of the importance of the academic freedom of the individual, but also believe that such freedoms should not extend automatically to institutions. Judith Butler reminds us that: “our struggles for academic freedom must work in concert with the opposition to state violence, ideological surveillance, and the systematic devastation of everyday life.” [11]

It is incumbent on academics to develop such a nuanced understanding of academic freedom if we are to call for social justice and work alongside the oppressed in advancing their freedom, equality and self-determination. 

The Israeli academy is not the bastion of dissent and liberalism it is purported to be by those who defend Israel and attempt to delegitimize the call for academic boycott.  The vast majority of the Israeli academic community is oblivious to the oppression of the Palestinian people--both inside Israel and in the occupied territory--and has never opposed the practices and policies of their state. In fact, they duly serve in the reserve forces of the occupation army and, accordingly are likely to be either perpetrators of or silent witnesses to the daily brutality of the occupation.  They also do not hesitate to partner in their academic research with the security-military establishment that is the chief architect and executor of the occupation.  A petition Drafted by four Israeli academics merely calling on the Israeli government “to allow [Palestinian] students and lecturers free access to all the campuses in the [occupied] Territories, and to allow lecturers and students who hold foreign passports to teach and study without being threatened with withdrawal of residence visas,” was endorsed by only 407 out of 9,000 Israeli academics – less than 5% of those who were invited to sign it. [12]

Notes:

 

[1] The decision was published in the official Israeli Gazette (the Hebrew edition), number 1425. It was therefore "legalized" by Israel. This land, for the most part, was (still is) privately owned by Palestinians living in that area. A large part of the confiscated land was then given to the Hebrew University to expand its campus (mainly its dormitories). The Palestinian landowners refused to leave their lands and homes arguing that the confiscation order of 1968 was illegal. When the case was taken to the Jerusalem District Court in 1972 (file no. 1531/72), the court ruled in favor of the University and the state, deciding that the Palestinian families must evacuate their homes and be offered alternative housing. See also http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/12/un-report-accuses-israel-of-pushing-palestinians-from-jerusalem-west-bank/

 

[1A] http://www.bdsmovement.net/files/2011/02/EOO23-24-Web.pdf; http://www.idf.il/1283-13885-en/Dover.aspx ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talpiot_program

[2] Keller, U. (2009) the Academic Boycott of Israel and the Complicity of Israeli Academic Institutions in Occupation of Palestinian Territories. The Economy of the Occupation: A Socioeconomic Bulletin: Alternative Information Centre.

http://www.alternativenews.org/images/stories/downloads/Economy_of_the_occupation_23-24.pdf

[3] http://www.jpost.com/Local-Israel/In-Jerusalem/Hebrew-University-in-Arabic

[4] http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3827102,00.html

[5] http://www.jewishlinkbc.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=944:lapid-threatens-to-bring-down-the-govt-on-haredi-army-issue&catid=150:news&Itemid=562

[6] http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?pr=71&code=mwp&p1=3&p2=4&p3=6&ca

[7] http://pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=869

[8] http://bdsmovement.net/?q=node/52

[9] http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=2102

[10] UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, “The Right to Education (Art.13),” December 8, 1999 

http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/ae1a0b126d068e868025683c003c8b3b?Opendocument

[11] Judith Butler. "Israel/Palestine and the Paradoxes of Academic Freedom." in: Radical Philosophy, Vol. 135. pp. 8-17, January/February 2006. http://www.egs.edu/faculty/judith-butler/articles/israel-palestine-paradoxes-of-academic-freedom/ (Accessed on December 10, 2011)

[12] http://pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=792

December 5, 2013
/

SHARE

Stay updated!

Sign-up for news, campaign updates, action alerts and fundraisers from the BDS movement.

Subscribe Now