To be added to the list of signatories, please email camisraelstatement@gmail.com
This statement comes from students at the University of Cambridge in
response to the misguided and myopic statement issued by Cambridge
academics on September 28 2014. We commend the general principle of
calling for peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict, but we believe that we have a
responsibility – whether also as practitioners of our various subjects, as
students, or just as human beings – to speak out against the discriminatory
practices of our university lecturers.
It is almost laughable to suggest that this summer’s conflict in Gaza and the
asymmetry of power between the Israelis and the Palestinians absolves
anyone of the immorality of singling out Israel, as these academics have
done. Numerous conflicts around the world tragically involve far more
civilian deaths and far more protracted wars. We implore these academics
not to accept blindly the figures released by Hamas about civilian casualties.
Rather, they should examine more critically the demographic evidence of
those who have died, which suggests that the majority were combatants.
We note that these academics, who purport to be concerned with the
humanitarian condition of the Palestinians, offer no statement on the
inability of Palestinians in Lebanon to hold citizenship, own property, or
enter many occupations. These academics, who take such care to enumerate
civilian casualties in Gaza, offer no opinion on the 200,000 slaughtered and 5
million displaced civilians in Syria, or the innocents killed in Syria and Iraq
by US airstrikes aimed at ISIS terrorists. These academics, who believe
military asymmetry allows permission to single out a country, say nothing
about the Chinese treatment of Uighur Muslims, Tibetan and Taiwanese
separatists or Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters. It is in this context that
we condemn these academics for singling out Israel, the policies of which are
open to criticism like any government’s, but which has been deemed by this
group to be the only country in the world worth criticising.
In our capacities as students of various disciplines, we may also emphasise
different aspects of the history and current situation between Israel and the
Palestinians. The lawyers among us may point out that every rocket fired
from Gaza at an indeterminate location in Israel is a war crime. Philosophers
among us may emphasise the moral hypocrisy in condemning Israel’s actions
without a single mention of the abhorrent acts of terrorism committed by
Hamas. Historians may insist that that the blockade of Gaza was a result of
Hamas’ eviction of any Fatah government officials and the ensuing rocket
attacks, not a cause.
We students similarly differ in our fields of specialism and our analyses of
the Arab-Israeli conflict. However, we too are united on several points.
Calling for an immediate lifting of the Gaza blockade without any
consideration for the security of Israeli citizens is a foolish and misguided
action. Calling for freedom and equality for all historic inhabitants of Palestine ignores the plight of the descendants of hundreds of thousands of
Jewish inhabitants of the Middle East who no longer have access to their own
historic homes in Arab countries. Calling for an end to victimisation of critics
of Israel without also calling for an end to victimisation of Israeli supporters
on campus and in the media continues the theme of discrimination by these
academics.
We strongly condemn this list of Cambridge academics for singling out one
country for criticism, for demonstrating a severe lack of nuance surrounding
the complexity of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and for issuing an un-academic
statement that achieves little save establishing the desire to discriminate
against a sole nationality.
Signed:
-
Josh Goodman, Churchill College
-
Aviv Fonea, St Edmund's College
-
Joshua Gertner, Jesus College
-
Stephanie Posner, Jesus College
-
Nina Rauch, Clare College
-
Imogen Krell, Christ's College
-
Shai Helfand, Wolfson College
-
Alex Matthews, Corpus Christi College
- Jakub Szukask, Girton College
- Emily Bloch, Trinity College
- Naphtali Rabinowitz, St John's College
- Heshau Mashhour, Trinity College
- Sam Gross, Trinity College
- Michael Leader, Queens' College
- Jonathan Shamir, Jesus College
- Millie Foster, Newnham College
- Jonathan Berger, Trinity College
- Zachary Shear, Robinson College
- Ezra Cohen, Jesus College
- Haim Abraham, St Edmund's College
- Adrian McGrath, St Edmund's College
- Mia Hamburger, Murray Edwards College
- Renate Fromson, Fitzwilliam College
- Deanna Green, Queens’ College
- Alex Davis, Downing College
- Lily Lerman, Jesus College
- Harry Richer, Gonville and Caius College
- Saul Farrell, Homerton College
- Shakked Halperin, Churchill College
- Ari Midgen, Murray Edwards College
- Darryl Bernstein, Downing College
- Olivia Gaunt, Girton College
- Simon Fox, Selwyn College
- Jake Leighton, Girton College
- Ethan Ezra, Sidney Sussex College
- Sarah Wolman, Robinson College
- Zac Levin, Robinson College
- Lucy Levy, Robinson College
- Robin Borchert, Clare Hall College
- Anonymous, Darwin College
- Alex Peters, Selwyn College
- Leo Jacobs, Clare College
- Daniel Lesner, Christ's College
- Mimi Shaul, Robinson College
- Stephanie Taic, Lucy Cavendish College
- Emma Webb, Trinity College
- Aryeh Dworkin, Jesus College
- Josh Marks, Emmanuel College
- Francesca D’Arcy-Orga, Robinson College
- Zack Case, King’s College
- Rafi Dover, Jesus College
- Gabriella Haffner, Fitzwilliam College
- Stephanie Lipman, Emmanuel College
- Zachary Freud, Fitzwilliam College
- Joel Collick, Jesus College
- Harry Kalms, Robinson College
- Johnny Harounoff, Jesus College
- Judy Kahan, St John’s College
- Charlotte Jacobs, Sidney Sussex College
- Olivia Ufland, Fitzwilliam College
- Oliver Brecher, Selwyn College
- Ben Lewis, Jesus College
- Thomas Clausen, Trinity College
- Robert Hill, Wolfson College
- Isabelle Terry, Pembroke College
Endorsement by Cambridge academics
- Dr Allégre Hadida, Director, MPhil in Management, Judge Business School and Magdalene College
Coverage in The Jewish Chronicle
www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/124280/students-condemn-their-professors-over-israel-criticism
Coverage in The Cambridge Student
www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/news/0033099-cambridge-students-respond-to-academics-palestine-statement.html
Coverage in Varsity
www.varsity.co.uk/news/7588
Coverage in The Jerusalem Post
www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Students-at-Cambridge-University-hit-back-at-Israel-attacking-academics-379150
Coverage in The Cambridge Student
www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/news/0033099-cambridge-students-respond-to-academics-palestine-statement.html
Coverage in Varsity
www.varsity.co.uk/news/7588
Coverage in The Jerusalem Post
www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Students-at-Cambridge-University-hit-back-at-Israel-attacking-academics-379150