The culture of fear instilled by the increasingly right-leaning structures of power that govern public spaces and our universities in the Global North have led to the silencing of critical voices on Palestine and Israel. In the last week, statements in solidarity with Palestinian civilians written by members of academic communities have been taken down by their institutions, and some local and national governments banned public demonstrations.
What is our purpose as anthropologists, educators, writers and academics in a moment like this one? At a time when there seems to be little space for nuance and context, when talk of retribution dominates the public debate, and when dehumanising language is given free rein in the name of ‘neutrality’, we must speak out.
We empathise with those who have suffered violence, but we express this empathy without using ‘both sides’ as a flattening, equivalencing, uncritical phrase. We can both mourn Israeli casualties, decry the tactics of hostage-taking, condemn hate crime and antisemitic violence as well as denouncing Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people and unchecked Islamophobia in Europe and beyond. However, we also cannot ignore the context within which violence takes place: one in which a vastly superior military and diplomatic formation has kept a people bereft of a state, of a functioning government and of basic services, whilst subjecting them to everyday forms of humiliation and brutality.
Since Allegra’s inception, we’ve been publishing work on the forms and manifestations of political violence. In the past, we found it not only relevant but necessary to publish essays and opinions on the ongoing oppression in Palestine and resistance to oppression, including texts on camps, boycotts, and struggles. As the military siege and bombardment on Gaza intensifies and as the political discourse polarises, we feel the need to open up the discourse on Palestine and Israel to a range of nuanced and critical positions. We cannot remain silent, especially in a European social and political context that is increasingly right-wing, nationalist and Islamophobic. This doesn’t make us apologists for anyone, it makes us concerned citizens.
Allegra is launching an open-ended Thread on the current situation in Palestine. We are open for submissions that push the debate further in a constructive, critical, humane way. We are specifically looking for ‘notes’, short-form comments without stylistic constraints or an established format. These will be desk reviewed for fast publication. Please aim for around 1,000 words. We also welcome statements of solidarity that have been taken down by universities or other institutions, which we will publish in our Alliances section.
If you are a scholar of the Middle East or a scholar who comes from the region, or a member of a Palestine solidarity group whose statement has been taken down, send your statement or contribution to submissions@allegralaboratory.net and Cc stuff@allegralaboratory.net.
