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

[Ernesto Priego]

Dear colleagues,

I thank Sky for having started this conversation. It needed to happen. It
needs to continue happening.

It's also worrying (if not frankly depressing, to be honest) to witness how
quickly the discussion can deteriorate, even in scholarly spaces. The most
famous line from Terence's* Heauton Timorumenos *is "*homo sum: humani nil
a me alienum puto*", but the same play also includes the lines "*nam
deteriores omnes sumus licentia*". In that sense, my personal view, if I
may (since plenty of others have been sharing theirs here), is that we may
be overestimating the significance of a potential public collective,
organisational agreement or consensus. (Other colleagues have already
referred to that in this thread).

Even in the awareness that the views expressed on this thread do not
represent the different views of the entirety of the AoIR membership, the
posts so far do indicate, unsuprisingly and to say the least, profound
disagreements. In any case, it seems there is really little hope for
reaching a consensus on this issue via email. For what it's worth, in my
humble opinion that does not bear well for peaceful conflict resolution,
within or outside academia, but I guess most of us already knew that.

At the same time, I wish it were possible for all of us to agree that the
world in general, and in this case -because it's the specific case we've
been discussing and not others, even when everything is connected- Gaza
needs peace. It should not be controversial to call for peace. As things
are historically complex and complicated, it sadly is.

Therefore, in that sense, I do tend to agree with Ernesto Oyarbide that at
this stage, "a dedicated forum, or opt-in email chain, to discuss
stances/statements would be more appropriate."

A practical suggestion is that there could be a shared online draft where
those interested in subscribing to Sky's original message (which to me
personally seemed nuanced, thoughtful and well-meant) could work on such a
statement for potential signing as members of this association, of their
affiliated institutions or on personal capacity. AoIR as a whole may not
agree on a most pressing issue, but that does not mean that AoIR member
groups cannot.

Peace be with you all.

Dr Ernesto Priego
City, University of London
If any typos remained in this email, thank you for your understanding.

@ernestopriego
https://ernestopriego.com/
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On Wed, 24 Jan 2024 at 07:54, Michael Dahan via Air-L <
air-l at listserv.aoir.org> wrote:

> Well said.
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 22, 2024, 05:46 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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> >
> > Join the Association of Internet Researchers:
> > http://www.aoir.org/
> >
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