To : Professor Asher Cohen, President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Professor Tamir Sheafer, Rector of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
We, academics, researchers and teachers affiliated with European academic institutions and beyond, have learned with concern and dismay of the letter made public you have sent to Professor Nadera Shalhoub Kevorkian following the publication of the petition signed to date by more than 2000 students and specialists in childhood entitled: "Childhood researchers and students call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza."
The importance of Nadera Shalhoub Kevorkian's work is internationally recognised. Her pioneering scholarship on the militarisation of women in conflict regions is considered a model, and her research on security and the politics of fear is of crucial importance to the study of security regimes. In particular, her book on Palestinian childhood, Incarcerated Childhood and the Politics of Unchilding, which introduces the notion of 'unchilding', has been widely acclaimed for its original contribution to the study of the accumulated trauma of children living under militarised regimes. Her remarkable work has led European laboratories and research centres to invite her on several occasions to contribute her unique insights at various seminars.
In your letter, you accuse in outrageous language, Nadera Shalhoub Kevorkian of incitement to hatred or rebellion for signing this petition. However, it seems to us that she is doing quite the opposite, for example, by stressing the traumatic effects of past and current murderous attacks on children and by calling for the immediate release of all hostages, especially children, whether they have been kidnapped by Hamas or are being held outside any legal framework in Israeli prisons. At a time when the Israeli public, media and official figures are calling for the "flattening" and "destruction" of the Gaza Strip and its population, the petition calls for an end to hostilities, the protection of civilians in general and children in particular, and respect for international law. The petition also calls for an immediate ceasefire, the entry of humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip, the protection of medical facilities, the safe movement of victims and wounded, and the entry of rescue and medical teams. These demands are legitimate humanitarian demands and do not contain any form of incitement to hatred. They are, therefore, appeals to avoid violent action and not incitement to new violent action or rebellion. As academics committed to justice, equality, and respect for human rights, we can only endorse such demands. We are therefore particularly appalled that they should give rise to pressure and threats against our colleague Nadera Shalhoub Kevorkian.
In addition, you criticise Professor Nadera Shalhoub Kevorkian for having signed the petition describing the Israeli military operation in Gaza as "genocide". Like any scientific postulate, this characterisation is open to question and is not the subject of a general consensus within the academic community: some researchers support this interpretation of the Israeli attack; others refute it. The same applies to the use of the notions of colonisation, occupation and apartheid. However, disagreement over the use of these terms, or over any political opinion, in no way justifies sending a threatening letter to a respected professor affiliated with your institution. We expect the Hebrew University, like any other internationally recognised academic institution, to guarantee its members, both academic staff and students, academic freedom and freedom of expression, as well as protection against racist and nationalist attacks.
By demanding Prof. Shalhoub Kevorkian's resignation, you are contravening the spirit of tolerance and commitment to academic freedom that is supposed to prevail in academic institutions and are thereby tarnishing the image of the Hebrew University among researchers from all backgrounds. Worse still, by making this letter public at a time when violence and spirit of vengeance have invaded the Israeli public arena, particularly against Palestinians who are citizens of the State of Israel, you are clearly endangering the safety of our colleague. As you are well aware, many students and professors in Israel are very concerned about their safety. Academic staff members at the Hebrew University, and other Israeli universities, are directly targeted by unacceptable threats and attacks carried out illegally by extreme right-wing militias, the army and police. At a time when armed settlers are moving illegally yet freely in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and terrorising Palestinians with impunity, including some who attend your nearby university, we expect an impartial and irreproachable attitude from your institution. To "publicly denounce" a professor in these conditions, while calling on her to resign, exposes her and her family to serious threats to their safety. This, furthermore, deprives her of her academic freedom, even though you admit in your letter that "the positions taken in the petition she signed “are not considered a violation of the rules of freedom of expression or a violation of the law”. Finally, by publicly denouncing one of your eminent members, you are setting an extremely serious precedent that could be repeated in other institutions around the world and impose restrictive rules on academic practices. We strongly oppose such an aggravation, which we are already witnessing in Europe and the United States.
The murderous attacks carried out on 7 October 2023 by the Hamas and Islamic Jihad armed groups represented an unprecedented shock for Israeli society, and we deeply deplore the loss of lives, suffering and trauma they have caused. However, we refuse to allow these atrocities to be used as a pretext for encroaching on democratic values and civil liberties that are already under threat from the far-right Israeli government that has been in power for a year. The trauma felt within Israeli society cannot justify the criminalisation and banishment of those who dare to express their solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza and point out that collective punishment, to which they are subjected, is contrary to international law. We deplore and unequivocally condemn the murder of more than 18,000 of civilians in the bombardments, including nearly 8,000 children, the forced displacement of almost two millions of people, the destruction of infrastructure, including universities, and entire housing areas, and the deprivation of food, water, healthcare, fuel, etc. to which the entire population of Gaza is subjected.
It is at times like these that our values are put to the test, they must be preserved more than ever. We therefore call upon your sense of moderation and responsibility and expect you to withdraw your attacks on Prof. Nadera Shalhoub Kevorkian and to make public this position, which will honour you.
Signatories :
1. Judith Butler, Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School, University of California at Berkeley
2. Jacqueline Rose, Professor of Humanities, Co-Director Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, London
3. Gayatry Chakravorty Spivak, University Professor, Columbia University
4. Joan W Scott, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey
5. Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies, Co-editor Journal of Palestine Studies, Columbia University
6. Gil Z. Hochberg, Ransford Professor of Hebrew, Comparative Literature and Middle East Studies, Chair, MESAAS: Middle East, South Asian and African Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY
7. Nurit Peled El Hanan, Hebrew University Professor (retired) and David Yellin Academic College. Laureate of the EUP Sakharov prize for human rights and the freedom of thought
8. Ann Laura Stoler, Willy Brandt Distinguished University Professor of Anthropology and Historical Studies at The New School for Social Research, New York City
9. Anton Shammas, Prof. Emeritus of Comparative Literature and Middle East Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
10. Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, professor of Modern Culture & Media and Comparative Literature, Brown University
11. Dov Baom, Director of Corporate Accountability and Research, AFSC 12. Nira Yuval-Davis, Professor Emeritus, University of East London, UK 13. Alana Lentin, Professor in Cultural and Social Analysis, School of Humanities & Communication Arts, Western Sydney University
14. Omer Bartov, Samuel Pisar Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Brown University
15. Penny Green, Professor of Law and Globalisation, Queen Mary University of London
16. Ronit Lentin, Associate Professor (retired), Sociology, Trinity College Dublin
17. Abdellali Hajjat, professeur de sociologie, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgique
18. Étienne Balibar, professeur de philosophie (retraité) Université Paris Ouest Nanterre
19. Lucia Direnberger, sociologue chargée de recherche CNRS 20. Hourya Bentouhami, philosophe, Université de Toulouse Jean Jaurès 21. Leila Seurat, Directrice de recherche CNRS, CAREP, Paris
22. Jihane Sfeir, Professeure, Université libre de Bruxelles
23. Yehouda Shenhav Shahrabani, Professor emeritus of sociology, Tel Aviv University
24. Sylvie Denoix, directrice de recherche au CNRS
25. Benjamin Ferron, maître de conférences, Université Paris-Est Créteil
26. Stéphanie Latte-Abdallah, directrice de recherche au CNRS (CéSor-EHESS)
27. Anton Perdoncin, sociologue, chercheur au CNRS
28. Judith Abensour, enseignante en histoire et théorie des arts, ENSAD (Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs) Paris
29. Neve Gordon, Professor of International Law and Human Rights, Queen Mary University
30. Estelle D'Halluin, maître de conférences, Nantes Université, CENS 31. Hilla Dayan, Lecturer, Amsterdam University College
32. Lamia Mellal, doctorante, KUL-ULB
33. Anaïs Duong Pedica, doctorante, sociologie et étude du genre, Abo Akademi University
34. Alon Confino, Professor of History and Jewish Studies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA
35. Marie Charvet, maîtresse de conférences, Nantes Université, CENS. 36. Adi M. Ophir, Visiting Professor of the Humanities, Brown University Professor Emeritus, Tel Aviv University
37. Sari Hanafi, professor of sociology, American University of Beirut 38. Véronique Bontemps, chargée de recherche, CNRS
39. Avner Ben-Amos, Professor Université de Tel-Aviv
40. Franck Mermier, anthropologue, directeur de recherche, CNRS 41. Candice Raymond, chargée de recherche, CNRS
42. Richard Jacquemond, enseignant-chercheur et traducteur, littérature arabe, Aix-Marseille Université
43. Yasir Suleiman, Professor, Cambridge University
44. Pnina Motzafi-Haller, Professor emerita of Anthropology, Ben Gurion University
45. Catherine Coquio, Professeur de littérature comparée à Universite Paris Cité
46. Chantal Verdeil, Professeur des Universités Histoire du monde arabe contemporain, INALCO
47. Menachem Klein, Professor of Political Science, Bar Ilan University. 48. Claire Marynower, MCF en histoire, Sciences Po Grenoble - Université Grenoble Alpes / Institut universitaire de France
49. Dirk Moses, Professor of International Relations, City College of New York, CUNY
50. Nancy Kricorian, Author
51. Sinan Antoon, Associate Professor, New York University
52. Jean-Jacques Glassner · directeur de recherche, CNRS
53. Françoise Dreyfus, Professeur émérite de Science politique, Université Paris1 Panthéon
54. Ola Galal, Faculty Fellow at the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, NYU
55. Sophie Bessis, historienne
56. Youssef Mnaili, Political Scientist at Wits University and Central European University
57. Kalypso Nicolaidis, Chair in Global Affairs, European University Institute
58. Karin Loevy, Legal Scholar, NYU School of Law
59. Ahmed Boubeker, Professeur de sociologie, Université Saint-Étienne, Centre Max Weber
60. Antonia Darder, Professor Emerita, Loyola Marymount University 61. Mathilde Zederman, maîtresse de conférences en sociologie, Université Paris Nanterre
62. Garrick Cooper, Senior Lecturer, School of Māori & Indigenous Studies, University of Canterbury, Aotearoa New Zealand
63. Yoav Shemer, political scientist, University of Strasbourg
64. Sarah Bracke, Professor of sociology, University of Amsterdam
Nouveaux.velles signataires
65. Susan Slyomovics, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, UCLA
66. David Theo Goldberg, Distinguished Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine
67. Marianne Hirsch, professor emerita in English and comparative literature, Columbia University
68. Todd Shepard, Professor of History, Johns Hopkins University
69. Denise Ferreira da Silva, Philosophy, New York University
70. Isaac Nevo, Professor of philosophy Ben Gurion University
71. Assaf Meshulam, Senior lecturer, School of Education, Ben Gurion University
72. Oren Yiftachel, Professor, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
73. Joel Beinin, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History, Emeritus, Stanford University
74. Sarah Franklin, Professor of sociology, University of Cambridge
75. Maboula Soumahoro, fellow, Institute for Ideas and Imagination, Columbia University
76. Nadia Fadil, professeure de sociologie, Université de Leuven
77. Stefan Jonsson, Professor, REMESO, Linköping University
78. Jean-Claude Monod, Directeur de recherche, CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure
79. Sujata Patel, Professor Emerita, University of Hyderbad, India
80. Susan Bernofsky, Professor at the school of Arts, Columbia University
81. Anders Neergaard, Professor, REMESO, Linköping University
82. Jérémy Robine, Professor, Université Paris 8
83. Sunera Thobani, Sociologist, Professor in Asian Studies, University of British Columbia
84. Ayten Gundogdu, Associate Professor, Political Science, Barnard College
85. Farida Akhter, UBINIG (Policy Research for Development Alternative), Bangla Desh
86. Raphael Greenberg, Associate professor in Archeology, Tel Aviv University
87. Tamar Barkay, Lecturer in sociology, Tel Hai College
88. Philippe Büttgen, Professeur de philosophie, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
89. Claudia Tazreiter, Professor of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Linköping University
90. Daniel Stridh, Department of economic history and international relations, Stockholm university
91. Paulina de los Reyes, Professor of Economic History, Stockholm University
92. Olivier Neveux, Professeur d’histoire et d’esthétique du théâtre, ENS Lyon
93. Eric Alliez, Professeur des Universités Chaire de Philosophie et Créations Contemporaines en Art, Université Paris 8
94. Uri Horesh, Honorary Senior Lecturer, University of Essex
95. Pascale Gillot, Philosophe, Maîtressse de conférences Université de Tours
96. Silyane LARCHER, chargée de recherche au CNRS
Lila Belkacem, maîtresse de conférences en sociologie, UPEC
97. Valérie Pouzol, maîtresse de conférences en histoire contemporaine, Université de Paris 8
98. Nicola Pratt, Professor of the international politics of the Middle East, University of Warwick
99. Ann Phoenix, Professor of Psychosocial Studies, School of education, UCL
100. Vasuki Nesiah, Associate Professor, Gallatin School NYU
101. Matthieu Renault, philosophe, Université Toulouse – Jean Jaurès
102. Zaïneb Ben Lagha, Maîtresse de conférences, Études Orientales Sorbonne Nouvelle U.
103. Thomas Pierret, Senior Researcher, CNRS
104. Saul Anton, Associate Professor, Pratt Institute
105. Nouria OUALI, sociologue, Professeure associée Université Libre de Bruxelles
106. Cláudia Patrícia da Cruz Pereira, ISCTE, University Institute of Lisbon
107. Tessa Bonduelle, Postdoctoral fellow, University of Leiden
108. Isadora reis Rodrigues, Physics, Senior advisor, KU Leuven
108. Alexey Golubev, Associate Professor in history, University of Houston
109. Goldie Osuri, Sociologist, Associate professor University of Warwick
110. Rhiannon Lockley, National Executive Committee UCU, Lecturer, Birmingham City University
111. Rhys Machold, Senior lecturer, Politics, University of Glasgow
112. Mariecke van den Berg, Endowed Professor of Feminism and Christianity, Radboud University; Associate Professor of Religion and Gender, VU University Amsterdam
113. Kathryn Medien, Lecturer in sociology, The Open University
114. Ioana Cerasella Chis, PhD student, Sociology, University of Birmingham
115. Dr. Chen Misgav, The Open University of Israel
116. Manuela Galetto, Associate professor, Business School, University of Warwick
117. Pierre François Moreau, Professeure émérite de philosophie, ENS de Lyon
118. Solène Brun, sociologue, CNRS
119. Youcef Chekar, Doctorant, Université Paris 8, LEGS
120. Carmen Diop, Doctorante, Université Paris 8, LEGS
121.Sophie Withaeckx, Assistant Professor in Philosophy, Maastricht University
122. David Mond, Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick
123. Les Levidow, Senior research fellow, Open University
124. Reinoud Leenders, Reader in international relations and middle east studies, King’s College London
125. Jeremy Moses, Associate Professor University of Canterbury, Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand
126. Matthea Westerduin, Chercheure en études religieuses, KU Leuven
127. Valérie Rolle, sociologue, Maîtresse de conférence, Université de Nantes
128. Maurice Herson, University of Oxford (retired)
129. Claude Baesens, Emerita Professor, University of Warwick
130. Rebecca Earle, Professor of history, University of Warwick
131. Ewa Majewska, Feminist professor of philosophy at SWPS University in Warsaw
132. Pontus Blüme, Department of Economic History, Stockholm University
133. Daria Krivonos, Postdoctoral researcher University of Helsinki
134. Clod Marlan Krister Yambao, Doctorant, Université de Ghent
135. Guillaume Sibertin-Blanc, Professeur en philosophie, Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis
136. Yves Sintomer, Professeur en sciences politiques, Université Paris 8
137. Anna Stern Taulats, EOI Barcelona Drassanes
138. Marian Geurtsen, Tilburg University
139. Zahra Ali, sociologist, Assistant professor, Rutgers University-Newark
140. Kim Sang ONG-VAN-CUNG, Université Bordeaux Montaigne
141. Mahdis Azarmandi, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand Marianne Moyaert, KU Leuven
142. Christina Kullberg, Professor of modern language, Uppsala University
143. Josephine Varghese, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand
144. Anthony Curtis Adler, Professor, Yonsei University, Corée
145. Yoshimi TANABE, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
146. Rongili Biswas, Senior Lecturer, WBES, India
147. Fumie Ohashi, Institute for Gender Studies, Ochanomizu University, Japan
148. Myriam Cheklab, Postdoctorante, LEGS
149. Maud Anne Bracke, University of Glasgow
150. Rodante van der Waal, University for Humanistic Studies, Netherlands
151. Qalandar Memon, Forman Christian College, Pakistan
152. Francisco-Fernando Granados, PhD Student, Toronto Metropolitan University
153. Thea Holmlund, PhD student, Departement of Economic History and International Relations, Stockholm University
154. Sara El Daccache, Doctorante, Université Paris 8
155. Peter Hill, Northumbria University
156. Anat Matar, department of philosophy, Tel Aviv University
157. Stefan Helgesson, Stockholm University
158. Peter Hill, Northumbria University
159. Susan Slyomovics, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, UCLA
160. Joke Struvf, University of Antwerp
161. Sarita See, University of California Riverside, U.S.A.
162. Itamar Shachar, School of Social Sciences, Hasselt University, Belgium
163. Rola El-Husseini, Lund University
164. Raouf Khenissi, institution of journalism, Tunisia
165. Hatem Akil, Valencia College
166. Housamedden Darwish, Leipzig University
167. Nina Gren, Lund University
168. Mohammed Bamyeh, University of Pittsburgh
169. Zahraa tachem, University libanaise
170. LE HUEROU ANNE, Nanterre University
171. Dror Dayan, Liverpool Screen School
172. Ofer Neiman, Ben Gurion University
173. Yael Dayan, Author, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
174. Hercenberg Dov Bernard, professor of philosophy (retired)
175. Neta Golan, Israelis Against Apartheid
176. Rela Mazali, Writer, Independent scholar and activist
177. Lila Belkacem, maîtresse de conférences en sociologie, UPEC
178. Hannah Safran, Haifa Feminist Institute
179. Silyane LARCHER, chercheure au CNRS en sciences politiques (IRIS-EHESS)
180. Thomas Pierret, Senior Researcher, CNRS
181. Sigrid Vertommen, historian and a political scientist, Ghent University
182. Omar Jabary Salamanca, Urban Geographer, Université libre de Bruxelles
183. Clod Marlan Krister Yambao, UGent University of the Philippines
184. Michal Nahman, Anthropologist, UWE Bristol
185. Meriam Cheikh, maîtresse de conférences en anthropologie, INALCO
186. Michal Sapir, writer and translator
187. Michal Zak, Oasis for Peace
188. Anat Matar, Department of Philosophy Tel Aviv University
189. Preston J. Werner, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
190. Avital Barak, Curator, the Center for Digital Art (CDA) and a scholar of movement & performance
191. Jonathan Preminger, Cardiff Business School
192. Miri Barak, Professor, Technion- Israel Institute of Technology
193. Abdeltif Amrane, University of Rennes