Gaza and Lebanon: One year on(going)

This symposium is an invitation to listen to Palestinian and Lebanese voices linked to the EUR community and to discuss with them: 

• What have we learned from this past year? 
• What tools do our different academic fields offer us to understand and address the situation? 
• What are our responsibilities as a university? 
• How does academic (in)action reflect and affect our integrity and values as an institution?

Speakers

• Rima Rassi, PhD candidate at EUR-ISS and sociology lecturer at the American University in Beirut (online)
• Ghaied Hijaz, student Right2Education Campaign, EUR Erasmus+ partner Birzeit University (online)
• Dr Amal Nazzal, Assistant Professor in the Business Administration and Marketing Department, EUR Erasmus+ partner Birzeit University (online)

Panellists

• Dr Isabel Awad, Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication, EUR
• Dr Layal Chaker, Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Centre (EMC)
• Dr Irene van Oorschot, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, EUR
• Dr Federica Violi, Erasmus School of Law, EUR 

The event will be introduced and moderated by Dr Jeff Handmaker, International Institute of Social Studies, EUR (Hague Campus).

Background

In October 2023, immediately after the horrifying events of 7 October, Israel began an indiscriminate bombing campaign in Gaza. A few days later, Israeli soldiers launched ground operations. 

One year later, more than 40,000 are reported to have been killed, including over 16,000 children. Countless bodies lie undiscovered, under the rubble. All institutions of higher learning have been destroyed, with dozens of academics and hundreds of students killed in what has been described as a ‘scholasticide’. 

South Africa has charged Israel with genocide, which the International Court of Justice in three separate provisional judgements in January, March and May deemed to be ‘plausible.’ The Court called upon Israel to (among other measures): 

• refrain from actions that could amount to genocide, 
• to refrain from statements that amount to incitement to genocide, and 
• to allow for very urgent humanitarian assistance throughout the Gaza strip. 

Israel has ignored every single one of these demands and, according to the news organization Al-Jazeera, much of the Western media has misrepresented atrocities taking place there.

ICJ advice

In a separate Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024, the International Court of Justice deemed Israel to be responsible for ‘systematic’ failures, as well as discrimination against Palestinians. In the court’s view Israel’s policies and practices amount to annexation and its continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful. Israel was called upon by the Court to immediately end all new settlement activities and evacuate all settlers. Moreover, all States (and international organizations) were declared to be under an obligation not to recognizeas legal the situation. 

The UN General Assembly was further called upon to consider what further action was required to bring to an end as rapidly as possible the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. On 18 September 2024, in an historic vote, the vast majority of states, members of the United Nations General Assembly, called for sanctions to be issued against Israel until it ‘brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence in the (Palestinian) territory’.

The United Nations General Assembly and the International Court of Justice have sent a clear and incontrovertible message to all nations to cease forthwith their support for Israel’s illegal activities. So far the Dutch government has refused to act on the Court’s advice and recommendations, or on the UN General Assembly Resolution (in which it abstained).

Military  operations in Lebanon

Meanwhile, in the last weeks, Israel has rapidly escalated its military operations in Lebanon. 

Israel had already occupied parts of Southern Lebanon in 1982 and had attacked that area recurrently in the last 12 months.  Since mid-September 2024, new civilian areas have been targeted and communication devices in Lebanon have been laced with explosives, causing horrific injuries, which UN experts have referred to as a ‘terrifying violation of international law’. Hundreds of Lebanese civilians have been killed; the hospitals have been overwhelmed dealing with horrifying injuries and some have been forced to close. Western countries and companies have been evacuating their nationals. Lebanese who have stayed behind and have no opportunity to flee fear experiencing the same kind of devastation that Israel caused in Gaza over the past year and in Lebanon in 1982. 

In light of these horrifying events, with ongoing violence, this Teach-in is an invitation to listen to Palestinian and Lebanese voices linked to our EUR community and to discuss with them: What have we learned from this past year? What tools do our different academic fields offer us to understand and address the situation? What are our responsibilities as a university? How does academic (in)action reflect and affect our integrity and values as an institution?