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

[Natalie Rock]

Thank you, Sky. 
It took a lot of courage to post this! 100% behind any action decided upon.

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jan 21, 2024, at 20:39, Aatika Singh via Air-L <air-l at listserv.aoir.org> wrote:
> 
> In unconditional agreement and solidarity.
> Aatika Singh - PhD, Art History, Stanford University
> 
>> On Sun, 21 Jan 2024 at 19:53, 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.
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> 
>> _______________________________________________
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>> 
> _______________________________________________
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