Latest Posts

Bisan Lecture Series – The Palestine Lens: A Conversation with Annemarie Jacir

The upcoming Bisan Lecture webinar scheduled for Wednesday, February 14th, at 7 pm Palestine time (6 pm Central European Time, 12 noon US Eastern time). We are honored to host acclaimed Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir for an engaging conversation with George Smith, Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry and member of our Steering Committee, titled 'The Palestine Lens: A Conversation with Annemarie Jacir.' (English with simultaneous Arabic translation for those who wish) You can register for the webinar by clicking here!

Palestinian Organizations Demand Inquiry Into UN Genocide Prevention Office’s Inexcusable Failure to Address Israel’s Ongoing Genocide in Gaza

Palestinian human rights organizations, including Bisan Center for Research and Development, have penned a letter addressed to the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres, expressing profound disappointment and calling for an inquiry over the failure of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Ms. Alice Wairimu Nderitu, to fulfill her mandate in addressing the ongoing atrocities perpetrated by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza. This failure includes neglecting to raise awareness about Israel’s ongoing, four-months-long genocide against Palestinians in Gaza or, at the very least, to the alarming risk of genocide; failing to acknowledge the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that Israel is plausibly committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, along with the provisional measures ordered for Israel; and refusing to engage meaningfully, meet, or respond to requests from Palestinian human rights organizations.

Israeli Damage to Archives, Libraries, and Museums in Gaza, October 2023–January 2024

A Preliminary Report from Librarians and Archivists with Palestine

The destruction of cultural heritage in Gaza impoverishes the collective identity of the Palestinian people, irrevocably denies them their history, and violates their sovereignty. In this report, we offer a partial list of archives, libraries, and museums in Gaza that have been destroyed, damaged, or looted by Israeli armed forces since October 7, 2023. This report is necessarily incomplete. It is very difficult to determine the status of archives, libraries, and museums in Gaza during the ongoing Israeli bombardment. Current conditions in Gaza, such as the targeting of journalists, frequent communication blackouts, and extensive damage to the built environment pose an immediate threat to safety. Moreover, archivists and librarians have been repeatedly displaced, injured, or killed, making it even more difficult to take stock of the damage to cultural heritage. As a result, it should be assumed that this report represents only a fraction of the extent of damage and death, not a complete picture.