Category: Columns

The Growing Rift between Holocaust Scholars over Israel/Palestine

A chasm has formed between Holocaust scholars concerning Israel/Palestine, deepening immeasurably since 7 October 2023. Unlike previous controversies in the field, the divide is not just historical or methodological; it revolves around academics’ role in the world today, particularly the public stand they choose to take on Palestine/Israel and Zionism. Two main camps have formed. Put reductively, one camp defends Israel, while the other defends Palestinians, although differences between individual scholars within each camp make for more of a spectrum than a clear-cut divide. How, despite a diversity of ideas and foci within each camp, did two academic-political antipodes solidify over several decades, and how have 7 October and the ensuing war widened the rift between them?

UN experts horrified at blatant disregard for health rights in Gaza following deadly raid on Kamal Adwan hospital

GENEVA – The UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese, today called for an end to blatant disregard of the right to health in Gaza, following last week’s raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital and the arbitrary arrest and detention of its director, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya.

Publication advice on collaboration with academic partners in Israel

The Advisory Committee on Collaborations was asked by the Executive Board to prepare an advisory report on Tilburg University’s partnerships with universities in Israel in the context of the Gaza conflict. Based on these findings, the Advisory Committee concludes that Tilburg University, as a moral actor, cannot remain passive and must act. The Committee translates this moral judgment into the following perspective for action: the Advisory Committee advises Tilburg University to suspend, within the legal and administrative frameworks, the collaborative activities under investigation.

A Massive Database of Evidence, Compiled by a Historian, Documents Israel’s War Crimes in Gaza

A woman with a child is shot while waving a white flag ■ Starving girls are crushed to death in line for bread ■ A cuffed 62-year-old man is run over, evidently by a tank ■ An aerial strike targets people trying to help a wounded boy ■ A database of thousands of videos, photos, testimonies, reports and investigations documents the horrors committed by Israel in Gaza

Open Call to the Japanese Government and International Community to Act Immediately to Stop the Escalation of Crisis in Gaza and the Expansion of Israeli Wars

The Third Appeal Issued by a Group of Japanese Researchers Specialized in Middle Eastern Studies, signed by more than 1300 Japanese scholars & citizens up to now

“The attitude of the Netanyahu administration, continuing war and mass killings in defiance of international law, reminds us of the path taken by Japan in the 1930s, which eventually led to the Second World War. Such an attitude, which shakes the foundations of world order based on the UN Charter and international law, will ultimately bring not only the Middle East but the entire world to the brink of ruin.”