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11th August 2008 |
As usual it feels that there is little good news to report from Israel-Palestine, after the recent shootings of non-violent protesters at Nil'in, the continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank, the harassment of the former-IDF-members'-protest-organisation, Breaking the Silence, and the continued refusal to end the barbaric siege of Gaza. Here we report on some of the more specific abuses of Palestinian freedom of education - in particular, the hundreds of Gazan students, still denied access to academic institutions that have offered them places to study; and welcome the murmurings of Israeli academic protest about the situation; we include an appeal for funds for education in Palestine, a reminder of how the checkpoints impact and give a concluding report from Ha'aretz on the 'Israeli reign of terror' in the Hebrew University Sociology Department, rightly highlighting the insidious effects of sexual harrassment there. If only the comprehensive 'reign of terror' so near their doorstep - inflicted by their army and their government on the Palestinians - were recognised and treated as seriously. 1. The saga of the Gaza students continues: 2. Israeli academics' petition for Palestinian academic freedom': 3. University heads: IDF interfering in enrollment process 4. Interpal's Education Appeal 5. A bad day at the Huwara checkpoint 6. "'Reign of terror' at Hebrew University sociology department"
1. The saga of the Gaza students continues: a) Gisha, the legal centre for freedom of movement, launches an online campaign to recruit international support for the right of Palestinian students from the Gaza Strip to reach their studies abroad. Sari Bashi of Gisha writes 'to ask you to join us in helping hundreds of Palestinian students in the Gaza Strip reach their universities abroad. Since June 2007, Gaza's borders have been closed, trapping 1.5 million people – including hundreds of talented young people accepted to universities abroad but prevented from reaching their studies. Last year, Israel permitted approximately 500 students and dependents to reach their studies abroad via "shuttle" services, but this year, Israel says that students will not be permitted to leave Gaza – except for a few dozen with prestigious scholarships to Western countries. Hundreds remain trapped, in danger of losing hard-won places at universities all over the world. I refer you to Gisha's report, "Held Back-Students Trapped in Gaza" (June 2008) [at http://www.gisha.org/UserFiles/File/Students%20report%20Eng%20-%20Online%20Versi!%20on.pdf] and Gisha's Power Point Presentation, "Students STILL Trapped in Gaza" (July 2008) at [http://www.gisha.org/UserFiles/File/presentation_Students_STILL_trapped_in_Gaza_16-07-08.pdf]. b) Jerry Haber comments perceptively as ever in his MagnesZionist blog, 6th August) entitled 'Two Additional Reasons for the Academic Boycott of Israel' (he is opposed to a boycot, mind). "Meet Fidaa Abed and Ahmed Ma'ari. Abed was headed to the University of California at San Diego for a graduate degree in computer science. Ahmed is a high school student. Both won Fullbrights to study in the US. Both had their Fullbrights cancelled, then reinstated, then US visas issued, then revoked. Full posting at http://themagneszionist.blogspot.com/2008/08/two-additional-reasons-for-academic.htm, c) Barak Ravid, 'Why did the U.S. turn away Gaza Fulbright scholars?', Ha'aretz 3 August An attempt to unravel the weird twists and turns of the saga at http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1008866.html 2. Israeli academics' petition for Palestinian academic freedom': a) The petition We, past and present members of academic staff of Israeli universities, express great concern regarding the ongoing deterioration of the system of higher education in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. We protest against the policy of our government which is causing restrictions of freedom of movement, study and instruction, and we call upon the government to allow students and lecturers free access to all the campuses in the Territories, and to allow lecturers and students who hold foreign passports to teach and study without being threatened with withdrawal of residence visas. To leave the situation as it is will cause serious harm to freedom of movement, study and instruction – harm to the foundation of academic freedom, to which we are committed. This petition was published with 407 signatures. At long last a significant minority of Israeli academics have put their heads above the parapet and signed a statement recognising the harm Israeli policy is causing to Palestinian academic freedom. FFIPP-UK has long been asking our Israeli colleagues to take an initiative of this kind. It's a great start. Let's hope it is followed up with attempts to get Israeli universities, trade unions, professional associations and other bodies to endorse it and put their institutional weight behind it. And let's hope in future for explicit recognition that the erosion of Palestinian academic freedom is a direct by-product of the occupation and the illegal settlements which need to be explicitly condemned. But in any event, a hearty welcome to this initiative. The background as to how the petition was put together and the list of signatories can be found at http://academic-access.weebly.com/ or on the Bir Zeit Right to Education website at http://right2edu.birzeit.edu/news/article563. b) Exchange on the topic on the Engage blog There is an extensive exchange about this on the Engage website. Normally comments about articles and issues on blogs degenerate rapidly into meaningless slanging matches but this one is an exception. There really is an interesting and insightful thread about why concern should be just, or particularly, about restriction on academics' freedom of movement as opposed to freedom of movement as such and about what it means to say that academic freedom is indivisible. See http://www.engageonline.org.uk/blog/article.php?id=2033 3. University heads: IDF interfering in enrollment process Moran Zelikovitch reports on Ynet news (29 July) that: In letter to Barak, Council of University Presidents say Israeli institutions 'open to all those who meet academic demands, irrespective of race, sex, religion or nationality'; professors join petition against restrictions imposed on Palestinian students In a harsh letter to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the Council of University Presidents (CUP) demanded Tuesday that the security establishment stop intervening in the enrollment process at Israel's higher education institutions. 4. Interpal's Education Appeal Interpal is a non-political, non-profit making British charity that works with international funding partners and partners on the ground to provide relief and development aid to Palestinians in need. Interpal’s Education Appeal is traditionally launched during the summer in order to highlight the difficulties of poor and needy Palestinian students and their families. This is the time when many Palestinian families are worrying about whether they can afford to send their children back to school, especially as the humanitarian situation grows more desperate with the continuing blockade on Gaza and the inability of many Palestinians in the West Bank to access their livelihoods because of movement restrictions. For almost 15 years now, Interpal has recognised the importance of supporting education programmes in order to empower the Palestinian people and enable their youth to build a brighter tomorrow. Together we can help this future blossom. By giving to the Education Appeal, you can help a Palestinian student and his or her family this September with your generous donation. For only £25, you can provide a deserving student with a school kit comprising of a satchel containing exercise books, pens, stationery and in some cases, even a school uniform. For £100, you can sponsor a needy student for a month or help buy educational materials for a school. Donations of any size are desperately needed and welcomed. Please help ease the financial burden of a Palestinian family by supporting a poor or needy student today. Interpal’s Education Programmes include: For further information see http://www.interpal.org 5. A bad day at the Huwara checkpoint About an incident that occurred some months ago, this report is worth reading for the picture it paints of the day-to-day reality of being a student and going to and from university in Nablus. " I finished my day at the university and then headed to the checkpoint at Huwwarra. This checkpoint represents to me the suffering for all people in Palestine. I waited in line and as usual there was a lot of pushing especially on this day because it was a Thursday, the day students finish for the week. What a lot of people at the checkpoint. It felt like every Palestinian on earth was waiting to pass through. Read the full report "Student pepper sprayed after two hours of waiting" at http://right2edu.birzeit.edu/news/article541 6. "'Reign of terror' at Hebrew University sociology department" Ha'aretz 3 August 2008 A day after Professor Eyal Ben-Ari was arrested on suspicion of forcing sex on his students, both professors and students yesterday described a reign of terror at Hebrew University's sociology department that kept female students from reporting his sexual harassment... Full report at http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1007607.html
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