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

[Noam Tirosh]

Hello list members,

I am Noam Tirosh, Chair of the Communication Department at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. Though I have been mostly a silent observer in this group and have not attended AOIR conferences, the recent events compelled me to break my silence. As our community was deeply affected by the tragic events of October 7th and the subsequent conflict (more than 100 people in the university community died during the massacre of October 7th and the following war that ensued), I feel it is my responsibility to share our experiences with you, especially considering the active participation of many of my colleagues in the AOIR community.

First, we opened our academic year two months later than expected due to the war and the fact that the university is located in Beer-Sheva in Southern Israel, only 40 kilometers away from Gaza, thus heavily bombarded by Hamas missiles. In addition, almost 30% of our student population was immediately recruited to the Army Reserve. It is important to note here that the situation at Sapir Community College, an academic institution located near the Gaza border, is even graver. They have had to shift entirely to remote learning following an evacuation, not to mention the tragic loss of faculty members and the displacement of many. This postponement of the academic year causes academic chaos for us that we are still trying to mitigate.

Only now are we realizing what happened to many of our students on October 7th, especially while celebrating the giant NOVA peace festival that took place that day in the area. One of our students spent the night camping with her friends at ZIKIM beach. At 6:30 am, when they woke up to the sound of a missile alarm, they went out of their tents only to realize that a Hamas naval commando was attacking them. They escaped to a nearby military base and hid inside a missile shelter. Eventually, Hamas forces invaded the army base. My student and a few of her friends are the only survivors among those hiding in the base's shelters. Others were murdered (some were probably raped before being murdered) or kidnaped to Gaza.

Another student of mine lost her boyfriend a few days after October 7th. He was recruited, and a few days later, he died while fighting. They had been together for more than seven years. While not married, she considers herself a bereaved wife. These are only two examples that I know firsthand. Many other students lost family members and friends and are now either fighting in Gaza or terrified for the fate of their friends in the front.

Our department is doing everything possible to support our students, prioritizing their needs to ensure they can complete the academic year under these extraordinary circumstances.

I genuinely feel sorry for those in Gaza currently suffering and the loss of innocent lives there. I don't feel less like a local patriot while acknowledging this. However, I do expect people in this organization to be fair enough also to recognize their Israeli peers' distress while writing whatever letter they wish to write. Otherwise, it is not a letter of solidarity with those currently in pain but a one-sided political spectacle issued to harness the academic reputation of an organization such as AOIR to some of the organization members' current political causes.

All the best,
Noam

--
Noam Tirosh, Ph.D.
Communication Studies
Ben - Gurion University of the Negev

On Jan 23, 2024 at 09:24 +0200, Sky Croeser <scroeser at gmail.com>, wrote:
>
> can we take this as an endorsement of some statement in solidarity with