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

[Dylan Murphy]

Thank you for your thoughtful and well-constructed email, Sky.


Throughout these many emails, the lack of voices from our Palestinian
colleagues is notable and deafening. Sadly, they don't have the privilege
of replying to this email chain to convince their colleagues of their
inherent humanity and value.


Currently, they are wondering if today will be their last.


They are grinding up animal feed to sustain themselves desperately
<https://uk.news.yahoo.com/gazans-mill-animal-feed-flour-161123586.html> as
only a trickle of aid slips into Gaza
<https://www.politico.eu/article/antonio-guterres-un-chief-israel-create-massive-obstacles-gaza-aid/>
.


They are wondering if the white flag they wave will be sprayed red
<https://www.itv.com/news/2024-01-23/moment-civilian-brandishing-white-flag-in-gaza-safe-zone-is-shot-dead>
.


They are wondering if their children will see the next sunrise
<https://www.savethechildren.net/news/gaza-10000-children-killed-nearly-100-days-war>
.


While we debate, the indiscriminate killing of 25,000 Palestinians, 10,000
of whom are children, continues. In return for this blood, the Israeli
state has brought just one hostage safely home
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-finds-tunnel-in-khan-younis-where-20-hostages-were-held-in-inhumane-conditions/#:~:text=It%20is%20believed%20that%20132,weeklong%20truce%20in%20late%20November.&text=Four%20hostages%20were%20released%20prior,one%20was%20rescued%20by%20troops.>
through military means.


It's clear to anyone with intellectual honesty that a strategy of human
shields only works if the involved party cares about the death of the
"shield" in question. It is evident, from their escalatory actions, that
the Israeli state does not care about Palestinians or even the hostages'
lives.


This is simply the wanton destruction of a people at any cost; this is
Amalek
<https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/11/benjamin-netanyahu-amalek-israel-palestine-gaza-saul-samuel-old-testament/>
.


As someone starting their journey in academia, the willful ignorance and
moral cowardice I have seen here makes me wonder if I have made a grievous
error.


The last time I checked, Hamas did not run any Universities. But the state
of Israel, which is regularly in breach of international law
<https://www.politico.eu/article/israel-acting-against-international-law-says-eu-diplomat-josep-borrell/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CSome%20of%20the%20actions%20%5Bby,international%20law%2C%E2%80%9D%20he%20said.>,
does.


I fully support and hope that the executive will put forth a statement
that, at the very least, calls for a ceasefire, as the families of the Israeli
hostages have called for <https://on.ft.com/3U9h61h>.


Let me be clear. Dialogue, mutual understanding, and peace are our only
salvation, as evidenced by the peace process in North of Ireland. I can
assure you that this will not come from the barrel of a gun or the
trajectory of a missile.


History will judge us, and we must act accordingly.


"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for
light and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for
bitter." - Yeshayahu, 5:20


In Solidarity,

Dylan Murphy

PhD Candidate.

On Mon 22 Jan 2024, 03:40 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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