Statement by Faculty and Affiliates from AUB in Support of Students and Faculty at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)

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Feb 25, 2016 Lebanon
[Logo of Jawaharlal Nehru University] [Logo of Jawaharlal Nehru University]

Statement by Faculty and Affiliates from AUB in Support of Students and Faculty at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)

By : Jadaliyya Reports

[The following statement was issued on 23 February 2016 by faculty and affiliates from the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Support of Students and Faculty at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)]

Statement in Support of Students and Faculty at Jawaharlal Nehru University, India from Faculty and Affiliated of the Ameican University of Beirut, Lebanon

February 23, 2016

We, the undersigned faculty, students, staff, and affiliates of the American University of Beirut are highly concerned over the recent repression of free speech and undue police and legal interventions at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.

We condemn the police action at JNU, the arrest of the JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar on the charge of sedition, the unwarranted harassment of students and activists, the targeting of Umar Khalid, and the profiling of Kashmiri and Muslim students on campus. We denounce the repressive charges against Kumar and others, the violence against faculty and students, as well as police complicity in the beating of Kumar at the Patiala Courthouse.

We support the courageous work of JNU students and faculty who address pressing issues of social concern: inequality, brutality, and marginalization. We stand in solidarity with efforts to address injustices perpetrated under a military occupation that has wracked Kashmir for decades. We hold that these injustices have been paradoxically perpetrated under systems of so-called justice: JNU student leaders were courageous in addressing the secret execution of Afzal Guru, whose case was carried out in absence of any due process, and whose killing has been condemned by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

 

While we recognize the critiques of military violence in Kashmir as distinct grievances, we note the repression of such critiques within a broader anti-intellectual regime. The actions against students at JNU, in tandem with the sedition charges against former Delhi University professor SAR Geelani and the recent targeting of Dalit student activists at Hyderabad University, reveal a troubling pattern emerging at Indian universities that stifles critical thinking, dissent, scholarship, and debate. From Lebanon, we stand alongside international scholars who have drafted and signed numerous solidarity statements, shoulder-to-shoulder with the students, faculty and staff of JNU. These events have violated the autonomy of the university as a non-militarized space for freedom of thought and expression.

 

1.          Tariq Mehmood, American University of Beirut

2.          A Nath, American University of Beirut

3.          S Sunya, American University of Beirut

4.          Lina Choueiri, American University of Beirut

5.          Steven Salaita, American University of Beirut

6.          Rania Masri, American University of Beirut

7.          Rami Zurayk, American University of Beirut

8.          Mansour Aziz, Independent Scholar

9.          Susan Prattis, American University of Beirut

10.       Jad Chabaan, American University of Beirut

11.       Sari Hanafi, American University of Beirut

12.       Karam Wahab, American University of Beirut

13.       Giuliano Martiniello, American University of Beirut

14.       Nikolas Kosmatopoulos, American University of Beirut

15.       Mutasem Shehadeh, American University of Beirut

16.       David Currell, American University of Beirut

17.       Richard Saumarez Smith, American University of Beirut

18.       Adam John Waterman, Department of English, American University of Beirut

19.       Esmat Elhalaby

20.       Alaa Hijazi, American University of Beirut

21.       Ira Allen, American University of Beirut

22.       Ayman Kayssi, American University of Beirut

23.       Ray Brassier, American University of Beirut

24.       Rola Hamam, American University of Beirut

25.       Patrick McGreevy, American University of Beirut

26.       Rima Karami Akkary, American University of Beirut

27.       Jennifer Nish, American University of Beirut

28.       Karim Makdisi, American University of Beirut

29.       Tariq Tell, American University of Beirut

30.       Lisa Hajjar, American University of Beirut

31.       Hatim El-Hibri, American University of Beirut

32.       Sonya Knox, American University of Beirut, alum.

33.       Gregory Burris, American University of Beirut

34.       Lamia Moghnieh, American University of Beirut, alum

35.       Maria Gabriella Trovato, American University of Beirut

36.       Alan Shihadeh, American University of Beirut

37.       David Wilmsen, American University of Beirut

38.       Diana E. Jaalouk, American University of Beirut

39.       Vicken M. Margossian, American University of Beirut

40.       Yusuf Sidani,  American University of Beirut

41.       Nanor Bedoyan, American University of Beirut

42.       Alice Kezhaya, American University of Beirut

43.       Nicole Massoud, American University of Beirut

44.       Steven McNamara, American University of Beirut

45.       Jana Al Mawed, American University of Beirut

46.       Ola Alhaj Hasan, American University of Beirut

47.       Christina Batrouni, American University of Beirut

48.       Georges Sacre, American University of Beirut

49.       Noor Victoria Barrage, American University of Beirut

50.       Aya Adra, American University of Beirut

51.       Sylvain Perdigon, American University of Beirut

52.       Tala Makhoul, American University of Beirut

53.       Sarah Raii, American University of Beirut

54.       Jana Nakhal, American University of Beirut

55.       The Red Oak Club, American University of Beirut

56.       Patrick Haddad, American University of Beirut

57.       Reem Khalili, American University of Beirut

58.       English Student Society, American University of Beirut

59.       Sara Malaeb, American University of Beirut

60.       Salwa Mansour, American University of Beirut

61.       Maria El-Bitar, American University of Beirut

62.       Amany Al-Sayyed,  American University of Beirut

63.       Sarin Vosgerichian, American University of Beirut

64.       Jana Kasab, American University of Beirut

65.       Reem El Khatib, American University of Beirut

66.       Dina Ayoub, American University of Beirut

67.       Sahar Houri, American University of Beirut

68.       Jad I.Tabet, American University of Beirut

69.       Ibrahim Dahrouj, American University of Beirut

70.       Tsolin Nalbantian, American University of Beirut

71.       Sonia Nalbantian, American University of Beirut

72.       Ghenwa Antonios, American University of Beirut

73.       Diana Najiya, American University of Beirut

74.       Rayan Baidoun, American University of Beirut

75.       Georges Ekmekji, American University of Beirut

76.       Carmen Ibrahim, American University of Beirut

77.       Ali Ahmad, American University of Beirut

78.       Ali El Mokahal, American University of Beirut

79.       Ahmad El Amine, American University of Beirut

80.       Ali Ajrouch, American University of Beirut

81.       Yahya Obeid, American University of Beirut

82.       Jason James Lemon, American University of Beirut

83.       Monica Al Kassouf, American University of Beirut

84.       Rachelle Dagher, American University of Beirut

85.       Joseph Sayegh, American University of Beirut

86.       Sara Baalbaki, American University of Beirut

87.       Kevork Assadourian, American University of Beirut

88.       Rasha Noureddine, American University of Beirut

89.       Farah Taha, American University of Beirut

90.       Vanessa Breeding, American University of Beirut

91.       Serine Haidar Ahmad, American University of Beirut

92.       M. Ekzarkova, American University of Beirut

93.       Mona Fawaz, American University of Beirut

94.       Jackson Allers, American University of Beirut

95.       Mona Chebaro, American University of Beirut

96.       Wassim El-Hajj, American University of Beirut

97.       Nate George, American University of Beirut, alum.

98.       Susann Kassem, American University of Beirut, alum.

99.       Julien Allam, American University of Beirut

100.    John Meloy, American University of Beirut

101.    Krzysztof Fleszar, American University of Beirut

102.    Farah Kobaissy, American University of Beirut

103.    Sawsan Abdulrahim, American University of Beirut

104.    Nidaa Aboulhosn,  American University of Beirut

105.    Samar Ghanem, American University of Beirut

106.    Rima Rantisi, American University of Beirut

107.    Racha Chkair, American University of Beirut

108.    Karim Eid-Sabbagh, American University of Beirut (Alumni)

109.    Maher Jarrar, American University of Beirut

110.    May Habib, American University of Beirut

111.    Lara El Mekkawi, American University of Beirut

112.    Amar Al Shabandar, American University of Beirut (Alumni)

113.    Omar Talhouk, American University of Beirut

114.    Ahmad Gharbieh, American University of Beirut

115.    Omar Dewachi, American University of Beirut.

116.    Carole Kerbage, American University of Beirut.

117.    A. Abdel-Rahman, American University of Beirut  

118.    Sirene Harb, American University of Beirut  

119.    Malakeh Khoury, American University of Beirut

120.    Khalil Makari

121.    Christopher Bauer, American University of Beirut

122.    Kathryn Lincoln, American University of Beirut

123.    Nermine El-Horr, American University of Beirut

124.    Sarwat Dabaga, American University of Beirut

125.    Dima Nasser, American University of Beirut

126.    Wael Itani, American University of Beirut

127.    Rana Hassan, American University of Beirut

128.    Sumayya Kassamali

129.    Najla Jarkas, American University of Beirut

130.    Ahmad Dallal, American University of Beirut

131.    Zeinab Dalle, American University of Beirut

132.    Doyle Avant, American University of Beirut

133.    May Farah American University of Beirut

134.    Nadya Sbaiti, American University of Beirut

 
Feb 16, 2011 Lebanon
Jadaliyya Reports By :
Jadaliyya Reports

Past is Present: Settler Colonialism Matters!

On 5-6 March 2011, the Palestine Society at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London will hold its seventh annual conference, "Past is Present: Settler Colonialism in Palestine." This year`s conference aims to understand Zionism as a settler colonial project which has, for more than a century, subjected Palestine and Palestinians to a structural and violent form of destruction, dispossession, land appropriation and erasure in the pursuit of a new Jewish Israeli society. By organizing this conference, we hope to reclaim and revive the settler colonial paradigm and to outline its potential to inform and guide political strategy and mobilization.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is often described as unique and exceptional with little resemblance to other historical or ongoing colonial conflicts. Yet, for Zionism, like other settler colonial projects such as the British colonization of Ireland or European settlement of North America, South Africa or Australia, the imperative is to control the land and its resources -- and to displace the original inhabitants. Indeed, as conference keynote speaker Patrick Wolfe, one of the foremost scholars on settler colonialism and professor at La Trobe University in Victoria, Australia, argues, "the logic of this project, a sustained institutional tendency to eliminate the Indigenous population, informs a range of historical practices that might otherwise appear distinct--invasion is a structure not an event."[i]

Therefore, the classification of the Zionist movement as a settler colonial project, and the Israeli state as its manifestation, is not merely intended as a statement on the historical origins of Israel, nor as a rhetorical or polemical device. Rather, the aim is to highlight Zionism`s structural continuities and the ideology which informs Israeli policies and practices in Palestine and toward Palestinians everywhere. Thus, the Nakba -- whether viewed as a spontaneous, violent episode in war, or the implementation of a preconceived master plan -- should be understood as both the precondition for the creation of Israel and the logical outcome of Zionist settlement in Palestine.

Moreover, it is this same logic that sustains the continuation of the Nakba today. As remarked by Benny Morris, “had he [David Ben Gurion] carried out full expulsion--rather than partial--he would have stabilised the State of Israel for generations.”[ii] Yet, plagued by an “instability”--defined by the very existence of the Palestinian nation--Israel continues its daily state practices in its quest to fulfill Zionism’s logic to maximize the amount of land under its control with the minimum number of Palestinians on it. These practices take a painful array of manifestations: aerial and maritime bombardment, massacre and invasion, house demolitions, land theft, identity card confiscation, racist laws and loyalty tests, the wall, the siege on Gaza, cultural appropriation, and the dependence on willing (or unwilling) native collaboration and security arrangements, all with the continued support and backing of imperial power. 

Despite these enduring practices however, the settler colonial paradigm has largely fallen into disuse. As a paradigm, it once served as a primary ideological and political framework for all Palestinian political factions and trends, and informed the intellectual work of committed academics and revolutionary scholars, both Palestinians and Jews.

The conference thus asks where and why the settler colonial paradigm was lost, both in scholarship on Palestine and in politics; how do current analyses and theoretical trends that have arisen in its place address present and historical realities? While acknowledging the creativity of these new interpretations, we must nonetheless ask: when exactly did Palestinian natives find themselves in a "post-colonial" condition? When did the ongoing struggle over land become a "post-conflict" situation? When did Israel become a "post-Zionist" society? And when did the fortification of Palestinian ghettos and reservations become "state-building"?

In outlining settler colonialism as a central paradigm from which to understand Palestine, this conference re-invigorates it as a tool by which to analyze the present situation. In doing so, it contests solutions which accommodate Zionism, and more significantly, builds settler colonialism as a political analysis that can embolden and inform a strategy of active, mutual, and principled Palestinian alignment with the Arab struggle for self-determination, and indigenous struggles in the US, Latin America, Oceania, and elsewhere.

Such an alignment would expand the tools available to Palestinians and their solidarity movement, and reconnect the struggle to its own history of anti-colonial internationalism. At its core, this internationalism asserts that the Palestinian struggle against Zionist settler colonialism can only be won when it is embedded within, and empowered by, the broader Arab movement for emancipation and the indigenous, anti-racist and anti-colonial movement--from Arizona to Auckland.

SOAS Palestine Society invites everyone to join us at what promises to be a significant intervention in Palestine activism and scholarship.

For over 30 years, SOAS Palestine Society has heightened awareness and understanding of the Palestinian people, their rights, culture, and struggle for self-determination, amongst students, faculty, staff, and the broader public. SOAS Palestine society aims to continuously push the frontiers of discourse in an effort to make provocative arguments and to stimulate debate and organizing for justice in Palestine through relevant conferences, and events ranging from the intellectual and political impact of Edward Said`s life and work (2004), international law and the Palestine question (2005), the economy of Palestine and its occupation (2006), the one state (2007), 60 Years of Nakba, 60 Years of Resistance (2009), and most recently, the Left in Palestine (2010).

For more information on the SOAS Palestine Society 7th annual conference, Past is Present: Settler Colonialism in Palestine: www.soaspalsoc.org

SOAS Palestine Society Organizing Collective is a group of committed students that has undertaken to organize annual academic conferences on Palestine since 2003.

 

[i] Patrick Wolfe, Settler Colonialism and the Transformation of Anthropology: The Politics and Poetics of an Ethnographic Event, Cassell, London, p. 163

[ii] Interview with Benny Morris, Survival of the Fittest, Haaretz, 9. January 2004, http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/php/art.php?aid=5412