Papers from the Fear of the Other Conference available on-line
Judith Butler & Jacqueline Rose, Holocaustal Premises: Political Implications of the Traumatic Frame
A webcast of the main presentations is available under events on the Royal Holloway College website - scroll down to 22nd September 2005.
Newly available!
Judith Butler Israel/Palestine and the Paradoxes of Academic Freedom
This paper was revised for publication in Radical Philosophy, 135 Jan-Feb 2006
Plus:
Henriette Dahan-Kalev
Daniel Dor
Edie Friedman
Stephen Frosh
David Hirsh
Brian Klug
Francesca Klug
Jon Pike
David Renton
Sharif Hikmat Nashashibi
Women Against Fundamentalisms
* Thursday, 22nd September, central London
Judith Butler & Jacqueline Rose, Holocaustal Premises: Political Implications of the Traumatic Frame
A webcast of the main presentations is available under events on the Royal Holloway College website - scroll down to 22nd September 2005.
* Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th September 2005, central London.
Two-day conference on Fear of the Other & the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Biographies of conference participants
How the holocaust has framed some of the debates on the status of Israel and its policies, including thoughts on how it might serve to provide an alternative ethical framework for embracing the complex ethnic realities of today.
Sponsored by The Institute of Germanic & Romance Studies, Goldsmiths College, Royal Holloway
Donation £5 requested - to be collected at the door
For further information contact: fearoftheother@ffipp-uk.org
23rd and 24th September 2005
Organized by The Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace-UK
Co-sponsored by The Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities
Hosted by the London Middle East Institute Outreach Programme
This conference is about the role of racism in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It deals especially with attitudes and practices that are anti-Arab, anti-Islamic and antisemitic. The aim of the conference is to bring each of these forms of racism into sharper focus; to clarify the relationship between them vis-à-vis the conflict; and to explore ways of overcoming them.
Over the course of two days, the conference will engage a variety of questions. To what extent do the parties to the conflict see each other in terms of negative stereotypes? What form does this take in the culture, politics and propaganda of each side? How far are their perceptions of each other adapted from traditional Western stereotypes of Arabs, Muslims and Jews? How far are they the product of the conflict between them? Which forces outside the Middle East tend to promote bigotry in the region, and why? Under what conditions can the people of Israel and Palestine replace irrational fear of the other with mutual respect? What is the role for people of goodwill around the world in promoting these conditions? And so on.
On the first day, a series of plenary sessions will explore the broad themes expressed in these questions. The opening keynote address will situate racism against Jews, Muslims and Arabs in the context of Western attitudes towards ‘the Orient’. The topic of Panel 1 will be racism directed at Arabs and Muslims, while Panel 2 will be about racism aimed at Jews. Panelists will seek to separate out legitimate political argument from bigoted racist discourse; to identify the sources (both religious and secular) of each kind of bigotry; and to critique the ways in which different forms of racism are instrumentalized in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
This will be followed by the second keynote address and a round-table discussion with the focus on action: on what can be done by those who are working for a just and peaceful resolution to the conflict. How can such individuals and groups confront racism against Arabs, Muslims and Jews, whether in the outside world or within their own ranks?
The final session on the first day will return to the terrain of Palestine and Israel. The panel will consider various ways in which ‘fear of the other’ is part and parcel of the conflict between the two societies. Topics will include (among others) the demographic debate, the position of minorities, and the growing divide between the secular and the religious.
The second day of the conference will begin with the third keynote address after which participants will have the opportunity to take part in a range of workshops, each of which will revolve around a specific topic or controversy.There will be a final plenary to pull together themes from the conference and to focus on priorities for activity.
Conference Programme
(Last update, 19th July 2005 - Note: All speakers have agreed, but there may still be changes to the order and timing of events)
Day 1: Brunei Gallery
Registration and plenary sessions, 9.15 a.m. – 5.30 p.m.
9.15–9.55: Registration
10.00–10.30 Keynote 1: Azmi Bishara MK: Anti-Semitism, Orientalism in Modernity
10-30–11.45 Anti-Islamic, Anti-Arab Fears & Impact
Henriette Dahan-Kalev; John Strawson; Sharif Nashashibi
Tea break
12-00–1.15 Anti-Semitisms, Old and New
Daniel Dor; Brian Klug; Paul Silverstein
1.15–2.15 Lunch break
2.15–2.45 Keynote 2: Stuart Hall: Confronting Racisms
2.45–4.00 Confronting Racisms, Obstacles & Potential
Ghassan Abdullah; Edie Friedman; Stephen Frosh; Francesca Klug; Paul Macknay (Natfhe)
Daphna Baram; Uri Hadar; Salim Tamari; Jamal Zaqout
Day 2: Birkbeck College, Malet Street
Workshops and Final Plenary, 10.00 a.m. – 4.00 p.m.
10.30–1.30 Parallel Sessions (with a short break in the middle)
1. Confronting antisemitism & Islamophobia/Anti-Arabism
with Susan Jacobs, Keith Kahn-Harris, David Hirsch
2. Beyond boycott
with Yinon Cohen, Uri Hadar, Jon Pike
3. Practical support for Palestinian students and institutions
various
4. Gaza Today
with Jamal Zaqout
5. Democracy vs. National/Religious Ideologies in Israeli Palestinian Conflict
with Udi Adiv; Aura Mor; Fathi Marshud
6. Managing Aggression in Political Contexts: Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and Fear of Contact
with Andrew Samuels
7. Activating an International Student Network for a complete end to occupation
with Yoav Elinevsky
1.30–2.30 Lunch break
2.30–4.00 Plenary: After Gaza: Eyad El-Sarraj, Richard Kuper, Lynne Segal
Registration Fee for conference: £30 (£12 concs and low waged)
Send make cheques payable to FFIPP-UK and send to
FFIPP-UK, P.O.Box 46081, London W9 2ZF
Please include
an e-mail contact address; and the full name and address for each person registering
Biographies of conference participants
Ghassan Abdullah studied Mathematics and Computing and has worked in the UK, Lebanon, Italy, Jordan, and at Birzeit University. He is currently doing work for the Palestine Media Center and has been involved in FFIPP since its inception.
Daphna Baram is a freelance journalist (Haaretz, the Guardian, the New Statesman) writer, translator and former human rights lawyer in Jerusalem. She was a Fellow of the Reuters Foundation Programme in Oxford (2002-2003) and a Senior Associate Member at St Antony's College (2003-2004). Author of Disenchantment: The Guardian and Israel (2004).
Azmi Bishara is an Arab intellectual, author of several books in political philosophy and two novels, a Palestinian political activist, and since 1996 a Member of the Israeli Parliament. He also publishes a weekly syndicated column.
Judith Butler is Maxine Elliot Professor at the University of California at Berkeley. She is on the advisory board of Jewish Voice for Peace (San Francisco) as well as on the Executive Committee of FFIPP-US. Her recent book, Precarious Life, appeared with Verso (2004).
Yinon Cohen is a professor in the Departments of Sociology and of Labor Studies at Tel Aviv University
Daniel Dor is professor in the department of Communication at Tel Aviv University. His book The Suppression of guilt: The Israeli Media and the Reoccupation of the West Bank is to be published in Britain in September.
Henriette Dahan Kalev is Director of Gender Studies, Ben Gurion University. She divides her time between research and human rights activism. She is the author of ‘You're So Pretty You Don’t Look Moroccan’, Sex Gender and Politics and a board member of B’tselem.
Yoav Elinevsky is Professor of Mathematics in MWC College, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Executive Committee of FFIPP-US.
Edie Friedman started the Jewish Council for Racial Equality (JCORE) in 1976 and is now its Director. She is also a founder member of the Jewish Forum for Justice and Human Rights. JCORE focuses on anti-racist education, Black/Jewish dialogue, and asylum and refugee issues.
Stephen Frosh is Professor of Psychology at Birkbeck College, University of London. His most recent book is 'Hate and the "Jewish Science": Anti-Semitism, Nazism and Psychoanalysis' (Palgrave, 2005).
Uri Hadar is Professor of Psychology at Tel Aviv University (TAU). His research interests include Lacanian psychoanalysis, discourse analysis of psychoanalytic psychotherapy, functional neuroimaging of language and coverbal gesture. He is the author of two Hebrew books on psychoanalytic psychotherapy
Stuart Hall is Emeritus Professor of Sociology from The Open University and Visiting Professor, Goldsmith College, University of London. He is Chairman of Institute for International Visual Arts (INIVA) and a member of the FFIPP-International Advisory Board. He is the author of many books and articles on cultural studies, postcolonial theory and black culture.
David Hirsh is a lecturer in the sociology department at Goldsmiths College, University of London and editor of Engage at www.liberoblog.com. He is the author of 'Law against Genocide: cosmopolitan trials' and now working on antisemitism and anti-Zionism, cosmopolitanism and nationalism, cosmopolitan law and human rights.
Susan Jacobs is in the Department of Sociology, Manchester Metropolitan University, and has worked on questions of gender rights, agriculture, and agrarian reform, particularly in southern Africa, gender and violent conflicts, and on women's organisations and networks. More recently, she has conducted research on pedagogies of teaching 'race', ethnicity and racisms in UK higher education.
Keith Kahn-Harris is a freelance sociologist and a part-time lecturer with the Open University. He has conducted extensive research in the British Jewish community and into Jewish-Muslim relations.
Brian Klug is Senior Research Fellow in Philosophy at St. Benet's Hall, Oxford, Associate Editor of Patterns of Prejudice, and a founder member of the Jewish Forum for Justice and Human Rights. He has written widely on antisemitism, Zionism and Jewish identity.
Francesca Klug is a professorial research fellow at the Centre for the Study of Human Rights at the LSE and a founder member of Jews for Justice and Human Rights. She is a member of the Steering Group to establish a British Commission for Equality and Human Rights and has been involved in campaigns for race equality and human rights for over twenty years.
Richard Kuper is a former academic, publisher and farmer, He is chair of Jews for Justice for Palestinians (UK), formerly on the Executive of European Jews for a Just Peace and active in FFIPP-UK.
Paul Mackney is the General Secretary of Natfhe, the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education. The Association is active in antiracist work.
Fathi Marshood is a well known community activist in Israel. An Israeli Arab, he has been promoting the rights of Arab Citizens in Israel for over twenty-five years, assisting Arab organisations and local authorities to develop their services and campaign for equal allocation of resources.
Aura Mor-Sommerfeld is the head of the programme for bilingual education at the Jewish-Arab Centre at Haifa University and the joint head of the “Bridge across the Wadi” fellowship. A member (researcher) of the Multilingual Europe Forum (Goldsmiths College), she works to strengthen educational links between Israel and Palestine, and co-authored On Writing Educational Ethnographies: The Art of Collusion (2005).
Sharif Hikmat Nashashibi is chairman and co-founder of Arab Media Watch, an independent, non-profit watchdog striving for objective British coverage of Arab issues.
Jon Pike is a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the Open University (UK), the author of From Aristotle to Marx (1999), and Reading Political Philosophy (2001); editor of Debates in Contemporary Political Philosophy (2003). He is the chair of Engage.
Jacqueline Rose is Professor of English at Queen Mary, University of London. She is a member of the FFIPP-International Advisory Board and of Jews for Justice for Palestinians, and has published widely on literature, pyschoanalysis and feminism. Her latest book is The Question of Zion
Andrew Samuels is a university professor, psychotherapist, writer and political consultant. Founder member of JfJfP and Psychotherapists and Counsellors for Social Responsibility. His books include The Political Psyche and Politics on the Couch: Citizenship and the Internal Life.
Eyad el-Sarraj is a psychiatrist, founder of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens' Rights and head of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme. He is the President of FFIPP-International
Lynne Segal is Anniversary Professor of Psychology and Gender Studies at Birkbeck College, London University and has published widely on feminism, gender, psychology and politics. She is on the Board of FFIPP-I and a member of JFJFP.
Gabrielle Rifkind is a group analyst, psychotherapist and specialist in conflict resolution. She is Human Security Consultant to the Oxford Research Group and Director of the Oxford Process, which provides secure, structured methods to enable those in adversarial situations to work on resolving conflict and co-author of ‘Hearts and Minds: Human security approaches to political violence’ (2005)
Paul A. Silverstein is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Reed College (Portland, Oregon USA). He is author of Algeria in France: Transpolitics, Race, and Nation (2004). His current research and writing focuses on Berber/Amazigh ethno-politics and philo-Semitism in Morocco.
John Strawson is Reader in Law at the University of East London, teaching international law and Middle East Studies. He directs the Encountering Legal Cultures research group and writes on law and postcolonialism with special reference to Islam, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and International law. His publications include, (ed.) Law after Ground Zero (2004).
Salim Tamari is the director of the Institute of Jerusalem Studies and a professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Birzeit University, specializing in urban, rural, and political sociology.
Past events
* Tuesday, 12th July 2005, 6.30-8.30 p.m., central London
Dr. Eyad El-Sarraj speaks with Christopher Bollas on Recognizing Humanity in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
Recognizing Humanity in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
Dr. Eyad El-Sarraj speaks with Christopher Bollas
Tuesday, 12th July 2005, 6.30-8.30 p.m., central London
Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS
School of Oriental & African Studies
Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG
Organised by Faculty for Israeli Palestinian Peace - UK (FFIPP-UK)
Hosted by the London Middle East Institute Outreach Programme
Eyad El Sarraj M.D. is a psychiatrist, a human rights and peace activist, and the founder and Chairman of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme. He is Secretary General of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizen’s Rights and a member of many local and international health and human rights organizations. His human rights activities have led to numerous hardships by both Israeli and Palestinian Authorities, including in 1996 being arrested and tortured for condemning torture by the Palestinian Authority. He is winner of the Physicians for Human Rights Award in 1997 and the Martin Ennals Award for human rights defenders in 1998. He has published extensively on issues of peace, human rights, mental health and trauma. He is the chair of Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace (FFIPP).
Christopher Bollas is a Member of the British Psychoanalytical Society, a former Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts, and has been in private practise in London since 1973. He is the author of eight works of non fiction, and recently, two novels—“Dark At The End Of The Tunnel” and “I Have Heard The Mermaids Singing”—and his first book of plays will be published in a few months time.
Chair: Lynne Segal: Professor of psychology & Gender Studies, Birkbeck College, University of London