Palestine and Protest. A critical conversation hosted by the MENA SIG

Group Submission Type: Presidential Highlighted Session

Description of Session

Education has long been at the heart of the Palestinian struggle for emancipation from occupation and apartheid. This is evident from Palestine’s rates of educational attainment, which remain among the highest in the region. However, Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza has brought unprecedented destruction to the Palestinian education system, compounding decades of targeted attacks on teaching, learning and research. This session will address the educational conditions on the ground in Palestine today, as well as the longer historical context within which the current war takes place. It will also examine the role of transnational solidarity movements in western universities, and the extent to which their suppression is reshaping debates on free speech and institutional governance.

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Chairs

• Susan Lee Robertson, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge

• Jee Rubin

Discussants

• Salim Vally, University of Johannesburg

• Mezna Qato

• Fida Adely, Georgetown University