[Air-L] The difficult conversation we don't seem to be having

[MC Cambre]

Thank you Sky for this courageous email.
A number of societies and associations have statements out on the
situation, like this one: https://www.theasa.net/gazastatement and this
one:
https://mes.americananthro.org/2023/10/20/mes-amea-joint-statement-on-palestine-israel-october-2023/

Would be good to do something,
kindly,
cc
-- 


*Dr. Carolina Cambre (she |her) Associate ProfessorConcordia University,
Montréal *



*Chercheuse associée à IRCAV-Paris 2020-2025https://www.carolinacambre.com/
<https://concordia.academia.edu/mariacarolinacambre>https://www.concordia.ca/artsci/education/faculty.html?fpid=carolina-cambre
<https://www.concordia.ca/artsci/education/faculty.html?fpid=carolina-cambre>*

*Concordia University is located on Kanien’kehá:ka territory.*

*University of Alberta is located on Treaty 6 / Métis territory.*



On Sun, Jan 21, 2024 at 10:45 PM Tom Hale via Air-L <air-l at listserv.aoir.org>
wrote:

> Well said.
>
> --
> Tom Hale
> PhD Candidate in Intercultural Studies
> ThomasHaleResearch.com
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 22, 2024 at 11:33 Sky Croeser via Air-L <
> air-l at listserv.aoir.org>
> wrote:
>
> > Hi everyone,
> >
> >
> > This is a difficult message to write, and I know that it will probably
> open
> > some difficult conversations. I realised this morning that I was shying
> > away from having these conversations because I don’t want to create
> > problems for the many colleagues who I respect and am fond of within
> AoIR.
> > And while I do care about all of you, sometimes care means being brave
> (and
> > perhaps annoying) instead of being polite.
> >
> >
> > So. We need to talk about Gaza. And we need to talk about Israel. Many of
> > us have been speaking up individually, but our voices have more power
> when
> > we bring them together. I have signed on to other open letters, but I
> think
> > there are also important reasons for the Association of Internet
> > Researchers to take a stance.
> >
> >
> > *What I am suggesting?*
> >
> > I am asking for us to have a discussion about some form of public
> > solidarity with Palestinians who are currently under attack, and with
> those
> > within Israel and around the world who are speaking up against the
> actions
> > of the Israeli state.
> >
> >
> > It might involve a statement of solidarity for those who are under attack
> > in Gaza and other parts of Palestine, and for people engaged in
> non-violent
> > resistance to the actions of the Israeli state. It might involve joining
> > the international call for an academic boycott of Israeli institutions
> > complicit in the ongoing violence against Palestinians (the guidelines
> for
> > which are available here <https://bdsmovement.net/academic-boycott>). It
> > might involve a commitment to ask our own academic institutions to cut
> > their ties with the Israeli state. It might take some other format.
> >
> >
> > *Why now?*
> >
> > There are many acts of violence and oppression happening around the
> world.
> > Why should our academic organisation speak up on this, specifically?
> >
> >
> > Because the scale of the violence is immense and continuing
> > <
> >
> https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/daily-death-rate-gaza-higher-any-other-major-21st-century-conflict-oxfam
> > >,
> > exceeding that of any recent armed conflict. There is no end in sight,
> and
> > the deliberate restriction of food, water, and medicine means that people
> > within Gaza face starvation and disease as well as bombing and other
> forms
> > of direct violence.
> >
> >
> > Because many of us are based in countries which are prepared to condemn
> > other atrocities, but are unwilling to issue more than lukewarm
> statements
> > about the Israeli state’s violence against Palestinians. For example,
> > Australia’s
> > foreign minister Penny Wong
> > <
> >
> https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/jan/17/penny-wong-meets-israel-katz-isaac-herzog-israel-gaza-palestine-war-meets-hamas-hostages
> > >
> > “has met with Israeli relatives of hostages held by Hamas and assured
> them
> > that she will continue to use Australia’s voice to call for the
> immediate,
> > unconditional and safe return of all hostages” and affirmed Australian
> > support for Israel, while only “raising concerns” about the humanitarian
> > situation in Gaza. Australia has also supported the US/UK bombing of
> Yemen
> > <
> >
> https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/jan/12/australia-military-support-yemen-airstrikes-us-uk
> > >
> > in retailation for their disruption of shipping routes to Israel. Where
> our
> > own governments will not speak up for human rights, we have an obligation
> > to raise our voices.
> >
> >
> > Because AoIR is <https://aoir.org/diversity-and-inclusivity/> “is
> > committed
> > to the most fundamental principles of academic freedom, equality of
> > opportunity, and human dignity.” The last university in Gaza has now been
> > destroyed
> > <
> >
> https://www.thenational.scot/news/24059315.israel-destroys-last-university-gaza-strikes-continue/
> > >
> > by the Israeli army, along with many schools. Students from these
> > universities feel their loss keenly
> > <https://wearenotnumbers.org/lament-for-the-universities/>, even while
> > trying to stay alive through bombings and the denial of their basic human
> > needs. Countless Palestinian academics
> > <
> https://wearenotnumbers.org/tributes-to-refaat-alareer-killed-dec-9-2023/
> > >
> > and students
> > <
> >
> https://wearenotnumbers.org/tributes-to-mohammed-zaher-hamo-killed-nov-24-2023/
> > >
> > have been killed, injured, and displaced
> > <https://wearenotnumbers.org/i-have-left-all-my-books-behind/>. Attacks
> on
> > Palestinian educational institutions are not new
> > <
> >
> https://protectingeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/impact_attackeducation_palestine_2022_en.pdf
> > >.
> > Calls for protection
> > <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03057925.2021.1987192>
> have
> > gone unheeded.
> >
> >
> > Because the digital technologies that many of us research are woven
> through
> > this conflict. Israeli authorities are using facial recognition
> technology
> > <
> >
> https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/05/israel-opt-israeli-authorities-are-using-facial-recognition-technology-to-entrench-apartheid/
> > >
> > to entrench apartheid. The Israeli military is using an “AI” system to
> > “generate targets”
> > <
> >
> https://www.npr.org/2023/12/14/1218643254/israel-is-using-an-ai-system-to-find-targets-in-gaza-experts-say-its-just-the-st
> > >.
> > Telecommunications systems are shut down
> > <
> >
> https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/27/israel-intensifies-gaza-bombardment-as-internet-and-phone-services-go-down
> > >,
> > making it difficult for people in Gaza to communicate while under attack.
> > Large tech companies have been providing key systems to the Israeli
> > government <https://notechforapartheid.com/>.
> >
> >
> > Because Israeli citizens who protest
> > <
> >
> https://www.npr.org/2024/01/19/1225651180/israel-tel-aviv-protest-gaza-war
> > >
> > the actions of their government (including on social media) face
> > <
> >
> https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/12/israel-free-speech-arrests-hamas/
> > >
> > jail
> > <
> >
> https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-police-crack-down-arab-citizens-expressing-solidarity-with-gaza-2023-10-20/
> > >
> > and threats of violence
> > <https://www.972mag.com/israeli-protest-gaza-war-repression/>, as do
> those
> > who refuse to serve in the army
> > <
> >
> https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240115-israel-s-war-resisters-risk-jail-time
> > >.
> > They deserve our support and solidarity.
> >
> >
> >
> > *Why **are we** silent?*
> >
> > I do not think that AoIR has tended to position itself as a neutral or
> > apolitical organisation. Past conference themes
> > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Internet_Researchers> have
> > included “Revolutions” and “Decolonising the Internet”. My sense is that
> > there was also a response and a discussion within the organisation to the
> > Black Lives Matter movement, among other issues.
> >
> >
> > Of course, I am aware that academic organisations will not often respond
> to
> > international events. Perhaps the silence so far is entirely for this
> > reason. Perhaps we are afraid that if we speak up on this we will also be
> > asked to speak about Sudan, Congo, and other issues (would that be
> > terrible?)
> >
> >
> > However, I think that we must also acknowledge the chilling effect that
> > many academics and others experience specifically on the matter of
> Israel.
> >
> >
> > Antisemitism is a real and significant problem in the world. However, the
> > ongoing attempt to conflate all criticism of Israel with antisemitism is
> > intellectually dishonest and dangerous
> > <https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/2023/11/09/antisemitism-dangerous/
> >.
> > It also frequently glosses over the long history of Jewish
> > <
> >
> https://www.wrmea.org/2008-december/israel-and-judaism-the-long-and-largely-untold-history-of-jewish-opposition-to-zionism.html
> > >
> > opposition
> > <https://jacobin.com/2020/07/israel-palestine-anti-zionism-history-left>
> > to
> > the formation of Israel. Organisations like the ADL put forward claims
> that
> > groups like A Jewish Voice for Peace are antisemitic *because* they are
> > anti-Zionist. Similarly, Canary Mission lists university students,
> > professors, and organisations that criticise the Israeli state alongside
> > neo-nazi organisations like the “Daily Stormer”, conflating legitimate
> > criticism of the Israeli government with violent antisemitism.
> >
> >
> > I understand that many people do not want to contribute to the real
> > antisemitism faced by our friends, colleagues, and students face. We all
> > have a duty to oppose antisemitism in our communities and universities.
> > Perhaps that leads to a reluctance to speak out about the Israeli state’s
> > actions. However, I believe that we can oppose both antisemitism and
> > Israeli state violence. The Israeli state does not speak for, or act for,
> > all
> > <
> >
> https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/23/us/jewish-palestinian-protest-israel-gaza/index.html
> > >
> > Jewish
> > <
> >
> https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-jewish-group-protests-eight-cities-gaza-ceasefire-2023-12-15/
> > >
> > people
> > <
> >
> https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/19/jewish-protest-israel-gaza-washington-dc
> > >.
> > We should not allow them to claim that they do.
> >
> >
> > We also must be aware that organisations like Canary Mission work hard to
> > impose
> > <
> >
> https://truthout.org/articles/advocacy-for-palestinians-has-been-outright-criminalized-warns-academic/
> > >
> > a high
> > <
> >
> https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2023/12/8/doxxing-students-palestine-feature/
> > >
> > cost
> > <
> >
> https://www.cuindependent.com/2023/11/05/ethnic-studies-pro-palestine-statement-taken-down-after-pushback/
> > >
> > on students and teachers within universities who do speak up. A variety
> of
> > governments have also worked to ban the Boycott-Divest-Sanctions movement
> > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-BDS_laws>. There are therefore real
> > material consequences for speaking against the actions of the Israeli
> > state. Perhaps that is enough that we do not want to put AoIR as an
> > organisation, or fellow academics within AoIR, in a difficult position.
> >
> >
> > But if that’s the case, let’s at least acknowledge it. Let’s make it
> > visible. Let us be aware that our organisation, and its commitments to
> > values like diversity and inclusion
> > <https://aoir.org/diversity-and-inclusivity/>, are constrained and
> > limited.
> > That our interest in hearing from those who are currently at the margins
> of
> > our academic spaces (as set out in the ‘revolutions’ CfP
> > <https://aoir.org/aoir2023/aoir2023cfp/>) does not, perhaps, extend as
> far
> > as some of us might hope.
> >
> >
> > With love, solidarity, and significant trepidation,
> >
> > sky.
> > _______________________________________________
> > The Air-L at listserv.aoir.org mailing list
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> >
> > Join the Association of Internet Researchers:
> > http://www.aoir.org/
> >
> _______________________________________________
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