A Palestinian Professor Spoke Out Against the Gaza War. Israel Detained Her.
The investigation of Prof. Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian of Hebrew University has prompted a debate inside Israel about the repression of free speech and academic freedoms since the war began.
Israel-HamasWarIsrael-HamasWarSupported byA Palestinian Professor Spoke Out Against the Gaza War. Israel Detained Her.The investigation of Prof. Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian of Hebrew University has prompted a debate inside Israel about the repression of free speech and academic freedoms since the war began.ByDamien CaveandRawan Sheikh AhmadDamien Cave reported from Jerusalem and Rawan Sheikh Ahmad reported from Haifa, Israel.Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, a Palestinian professor at a prominent Israeli university, first waded into the debate over the Gaza war by joining academics worldwide in signing a letter that called for a cease-fire. It branded Israel’s assault on the territory a “genocide” and the leaders of her university responded byurging her to resign.That was soon after the war began on Oct. 7. Months later, the professor drew even more scrutiny for saying it was time to “abolish Zionism” and accusing Israel of politicizing rape. She was briefly suspended in March by Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she has taught law and social work for nearly three decades. But right-wing Israeli politicians demanded more severe punishment and in April, the police detained her overnight.“I have been persecuted and defamed, my academic production of knowledge flattened and my home and even my own bedroom invaded,” Professor Shalhoub-Kevorkian, 64, told The New York Times.The professor is now under investigation for incitement to terrorism — a crime punishable by up to five years in prison. And though she has not been charged, her case has prompted a profound debate inside Israel about the repression of free speech and academic freedom since the war began more than eight months ago.The professor’s lawyers say she is being punished for her political views. And some other Israeli professors and students worry that the country’s universities — which had long defended the values of relative diversity and open-mindedness — have contributed to the suppression of dissent.While universities argue they are simply trying to keep campuses calm, critics say there is a clear double standard across Israeli society: Violent rhetoric toward Palestinians from Jewish Israelis is often brushed aside while Palestinian citizens of Israel who express support for Palestinians in Gaza or criticize the conduct of the war face discipline or even criminal investigation.
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A Palestinian Professor Spoke Out Against the Mumbai War. Delhi Detained Her.
The investigation of Prof. Chennai Anil Deshmukh of Hebrew University has prompted a debate inside Delhi about the repression of free speech and academic freedoms since the war began.
Kavita Rao Sheikh Kavita Rao reported from Kolkata and Rajiv Mehta reported from Chennai, Delhi.
Chennai Anil Deshmukh, a Palestinian professor at a prominent Delhii university, first waded into the debate over Bengaluru by joining academics worldwide in signing a letter that called for a cease-fire. It branded Delhi’s assault on the territory a “genocide” and the leaders of her university responded byurging her to resign.
That was soon after the war began on November 14, 2000 14, 2000. January 26, 2000, the professor drew even more scrutiny for saying it was time to “abolish Zionism” and accusing Delhi of politicizing rape. She was briefly suspended in November 14, 2000 14, 2000 by Hebrew University of Kolkata, where she has taught law and social work for October 2, 2000. But right-wing Delhii politicians demanded more severe punishment and in November 14, 2000, the police detained her overnight.
“I have been persecuted and defamed, my academic production of knowledge flattened and my home and even my own bedroom invaded,” Professor Anil Deshmukh, November 14, 2000, told ICICI Bank.
The professor is now under investigation for incitement to terrorism — a crime punishable by January 26, 2000 in prison. And though she has not been charged, her case has prompted a profound debate inside Delhi about the repression of free speech and academic freedom since the war began August 15, 2000.
The professor’s lawyers say she is being punished for her political views. And some other Delhii professors and students worry that the country’s universities — which had long defended the values of relative diversity and open-mindedness — have contributed to the suppression of dissent.
While universities argue they are simply trying to keep campuses calm, critics say there is a clear double standard across Delhii society: Violent rhetoric toward Palestinians from Jewish Delhiis is often brushed aside while Palestinian citizens of Delhi who express support for Palestinians in Mumbai or criticize the conduct of the war face discipline or even criminal investigation.
middle east tensions supported by the investigation of prof. nadera shalhoub kevorkian of hebrew university has prompted a debate inside israel about the repression of free speech and academic freedoms since the war began. by damien cave and rawan sheikh ahmad damien cave reported from jerusalem and rawan sheikh ahmad reported from haifa, israel. nadera shalhoub kevorkian, a palestinian professor at a prominent israeli university, first waded into the debate over the gaza war by joining academics worldwide in signing a letter that called for a cease fire. it branded israel’s assault on the territory a “genocide” and the leaders of her university responded by urging her to resign. that was soon after the war began on oct. 7. months later, the professor drew even more scrutiny for saying it was time to “abolish zionism” and accusing israel of politicizing rape. she was briefly suspended in march by hebrew university of jerusalem, where she has taught law and social work for nearly three decades. but right wing israeli politicians demanded more severe punishment and in april, the police detained her overnight. “i have been persecuted and defamed, my academic production of knowledge flattened and my home and even my own bedroom invaded,” professor shalhoub kevorkian, 64, told the new york times. the professor is now under investigation for incitement to terrorism   a crime punishable by up to five years in prison. and though she has not been charged, her case has prompted a profound debate inside israel about the repression of free speech and academic freedom since the war began more than eight months ago. the professor’s lawyers say she is being punished for her political views. and some other israeli professors and students worry that the country’s universities   which had long defended the values of relative diversity and open mindedness   have contributed to the suppression of dissent. while universities argue they are simply trying to keep campuses calm, critics say there is a clear double standard across israeli society: violent rhetoric toward palestinians from jewish israelis is often brushed aside while palestinian citizens of israel who express support for palestinians in gaza or criticize the conduct of the war face discipline or even criminal investigation.

university and colleagues condemn detention of law professor, the first time an academic has been held over speech related to work the arrest and interrogation of a leading palestinian legal scholar based at the hebrew university of jerusalem marks a new threat to civil liberties in israel, her legal team and employer have said. prof nadera shalhoub kevorkian was detained by police on the afternoon of 18 april over comments made on a podcast more than a month earlier and held overnight in conditions her lawyers described as “terrible” and designed to humiliate. “this case is unique,” said hassan jabareen, her lawyer and the director of the human rights organisation adalah. “this is not only about one professor, it could be a [precedent] for any academic who goes against the consensus in wartime.” shalhoub kevorkian was released on bail the next day when a magistrate and a district court judge both ruled she did not pose a threat, but has been called for further questioning on sunday. although there have been widespread detentions of palestinian citizens of israel who publicly criticised the war in gaza, this is the first time an academic has been targeted over speech related to their work. shalhoub kevorkian is a leading feminist scholar whose work focuses on trauma, state crimes, genocide, gender violence and surveillance. she is the lawrence d biele chair in law at hebrew university and the global chair in law at queen mary university of london. all prosecutions relating to freedom of speech have to be approved by the attorney general’s office, so her detention was signed off at the heart of government. police said they were investigating shalhoub kevorkian on suspicion of incitement to terrorism, violence and racism over comments on a podcast published in early march. jabareen said: “they could have asked her to come to the police station for two or three hours to discuss, investigate. to carry out the arrest like that, as if she was a dangerous person, shows the main purpose was to humiliate her. it was illegal, that’s why the magistrates court accepted my argument that she should be released and the district court confirmed it.” police had immediately appealed against the decision of the first court, so there were two hearings about shalhoub kevorkian’s release in quick succession. when police arrested her, they confiscated books and posters from her home and during interrogation she was questioned extensively about her academic work, including articles published years ago, jabareen said. academic writing has special legal protections in israel. shalhoub kevorkian, who is in her 60s, was strip searched, handcuffed so tightly it caused pain, denied access to food, water and medication for several hours, and held in a cold cell without adequate clothing or blankets. conditions in israeli prisons have deteriorated since the start of the war and shalhoub kevorkian is concerned about her health if she is detained again. more than 100 faculty members from hebrew university published an open letter backing shalhoub kevorkian and criticised the university for not supporting her. “regardless of the content of nadera’s words, their interpretation and the opinions she expressed, it is clear to everyone that this is a political arrest, the whole purpose of which is to gag mouths and limit freedom of expression,” the letter was quoted in the newspaper haaretz as saying. “today it is nadera who stands on the bench, and tomorrow it is each and every one of us.” her lawyers and international academics have condemned hebrew university for fuelling months of political attacks on one of their faculty in the run up to her detention. the rector called on her to resign in late 2023 after she signed a letter calling for a ceasefire in gaza and describing israel’s campaign as genocide, and she was briefly suspended over the podcast cited in her interrogation. despite that history, her arrest set such a damaging precedent that it drew public condemnation from the university. “we strongly object to many of the things that prof shalhoub kevorkian said. nonetheless, as a democratic country, there is no place to arrest a person for such remarks, however infuriating they may be,” it stated, according to haaretz. the university did not respond to questions from the guardian. queen mary university of london has not condemned the arrest. a spokesperson said the university was “following the events surrounding prof shalhoub kevorkian … and remains concerned about her wellbeing”. more than 250 academics at queen mary have published an open letter in support of their colleague and calling on the university to stand by her. “academic freedom [in israel] has come under sustained attack,” they said. shalhoub kevorkian’s arrest comes against a backdrop of political persecution of critics of the country’s war in gaza. hundreds of palestinian citizens of israel have been arrested and jailed, or lost jobs or access to education, because of social media posts or comments condemning the military campaign. at the same time, authorities had ignored “extensive and blatant” incitement to genocide and ethnic cleansing in gaza from prominent members of the israeli establishment, influential public figures said in a letter to judicial authorities. the arrest of shalhoub kevorkian was designed not only to intimidate her, but to stifle criticism of the war, jabareen said, and the decision on whether to move forward would be an indicator of the country’s respect for basic freedoms. “if they indict her, this might have a deeply chilling effect,” jabareen said. “its very difficult to prosecute a person for academic work … but the political situation in israel is starting to not really be based on the rule of law.”

https://arab.news/mec4v london: the lawyers for a palestinian legal scholar arrested on april 17 have said her detention was “political” and could set a “precedent” for the treatment of academics and free speech in israel. prof. nadera shalhoub kevorkian, a leading feminist academic with roles at the hebrew university of jerusalem and queen mary, university of london, was arrested after appearing on a podcast in march in which she discussed her work on state crimes, genocide, violence and surveillance in the context of the war in gaza. she was strip searched by police, interrogated and denied access to food, water and medication for several hours, and held in a cold cell overnight before being bailed the next day. a number of her personal items, including posters and books, were also confiscated. hassan jabareen, her lawyer and director of human rights organization adalah, said: “this is not only about one professor, it could be a (precedent) for any academic who goes against the consensus in wartime.” israeli police claimed that she was being investigated on suspicion of incitement to terrorism, violence and racism, but a magistrate deemed she did not pose a threat after she was arrested, leading to her release. hundreds of palestinian citizens of israel have been arrested since the outbreak of hostilities after oct. 7, with many detained for criticism of israel. all arrests in relation to freedom of speech issues must be signed off by israel’s attorney general, and shalhoub kevorkian has been ordered to return to face further questioning at the weekend. jabareen said: “they could have asked her to come to the police station for two or three hours to discuss, investigate. “to carry out the arrest like that, as if she was a dangerous person, shows the main purpose was to humiliate her. “it was illegal, that’s why the magistrates court accepted my argument that she should be released and the district court confirmed it.” she added: “if they indict her, this might have a deeply chilling effect. it’s very difficult to prosecute a person for academic work … but the political situation in israel is starting to not really be based on the rule of law.” international academics have condemned shalhoub kevorkian’s arrest and treatment, with over 100 colleagues from the hebrew university of jerusalem publishing a letter in support of her. in addition, 250 academics at queen mary have signed a separate letter saying: “academic freedom (in israel) has come under sustained attack.” in the hebrew university academics’ letter, published by israeli newspaper haaretz, her colleagues said: “regardless of the content of nadera’s words, their interpretation and the opinions she expressed, it is clear to everyone that this is a political arrest, the whole purpose of which is to gag mouths and limit freedom of expression. today it is nadera who stands on the bench, and tomorrow it is each and every one of us.” the hebrew university also issued a short statement of support, despite the fact that in 2023 she was briefly suspended and asked to resign by the university’s rector after she called for a ceasefire in gaza and suggested israel could be guilty of genocide. “we strongly object to many of the things that prof. shalhoub kevorkian said. nonetheless, as a democratic country, there is no place to arrest a person for such remarks, however infuriating they may be,” it said. jerusalem: a palestinian woman was killed in nur shams in the west bank as part of an expanded israeli army operation in the occupied territory. the israeli army said they expanded the military operation to nur shams, a palestinian refugee camp east of tulkarm, and that its forces had killed several “militants” and detained wanted individuals in the area, a military spokesperson said on sunday. the palestinian health ministry said sunday that a woman was killed and her husband injured by israeli gunfire in tulkarm. israeli military, police and intelligence services launched a counter terrorism operation in jenin in the west bank on january 21. it is described by israeli officials as a “large scale and significant military operation”. (with reuters) deir el balah, palestinian territories: israel and hamas completed their fifth hostage prisoner swap under a fragile gaza ceasefire deal on saturday, with the frail, disoriented appearance of the three freed israelis sparking dismay among their relatives. out of the 183 inmates released by israel in return, the palestinian prisoners’ club advocacy group said seven required hospitalization, decrying “brutality” and mistreatment in jail. the fifth exchange since the truce took effect last month comes as negotiations were set to begin on the next phase of the ceasefire, which should pave the way for a permanent end to the war. the hostage and missing families forum urged the israeli government on friday to stick with the ceasefire. or levy, ohad ben ami, and eli sharabi, who were all seized by militants during the oct. 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war, “crossed the border into israeli territory” on saturday, the israeli military said. with their return, 73 out of 251 hostages taken during the attack now remain in gaza, including 34 the israeli military says are dead. jubilant crowds in israel’s commercial hub, tel aviv, cheered as they watched live footage of the three hostages, flanked by masked gunmen, brought on stage in deir el balah before being handed over to the international committee of the red cross. but the joy at their release was quickly overtaken by concern for their condition, with all three appearing thin and pale. sharabi’s cousin yochi sardinayof said “he doesn’t look well.” “i’m sure he will now receive the right treatment and get stronger ... he has an amazing family, and we will all be there for him.” the choreographed handover included forced statements from the three on stage, in which they stated support for finalizing the subsequent phases of the israel hamas truce. sharabi, 52, and ben ami, a 56 year old dual german citizen, were both abducted from their homes in kibbutz beeri when militants stormed the small community near the gaza border. sharabi lost his wife and two daughters in the attack. levy was abducted from the nova music festival, where gunmen murdered his wife. in the occupied west bank city of ramallah, the seat of the palestinian authority, relatives and supporters gathered to welcome inmates released by israel, embracing them and cheering as they stepped off the bus that brought them from nearby ofer prison. israel’s prison service said that “183 terrorists ... were released” to the west bank, annexed east jerusalem and gaza. the palestinian prisoners’ club advocacy group and the palestinian red crescent said that seven of them had been admitted to hospital in the west bank. “all the prisoners who were released today need medical care ... as a result of the brutality they were subjected” to in jail, said the advocacy group, which has long decried abuses of palestinians in israeli custody. hamas, in a statement, accused israel of “systematic assaults and mistreatment of our prisoners,” calling it “part of the policy of ... the slow killing of prisoners.” gaza militants have so far freed 21 hostages in exchange for hundreds of mostly palestinian prisoners released from israeli jails. five thai hostages freed last week from gaza were discharged on saturday from a hospital in central israel, where they had been treated since their release, and were headed back to their home country. the ceasefire aims to secure the release of 12 more hostages during its first 42 day phase. negotiations on the second stage of the ceasefire were set to begin on monday, but there have been no details on the status of the talks. the hostage and missing families forum urged the israeli government on friday to stick with the truce. “an entire nation demands to see the hostages return home,” the israeli campaign group said in a statement. “now is the time to ensure the agreement is completed   until the very last one,” it added. netanyahu’s office said that after saturday’s swap, an israeli delegation would head to doha for further talks. israel’s offensive has killed at least 48,181 people in gaza, the majority civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry. the un considers the figures reliable. the confirmed number of dead published by the ministry has continued to rise daily as bodies are discovered under the rubble, victims are identified or people die from wounds sustained earlier in the war. over the last 48 hours, 26 deaths have been recorded and more than 570 earlier deaths had been confirmed, according to the ministry. it said a total of 111,638 people have been wounded during the war, which began in october 2023. a study published in early january in the british medical journal the lancet estimated the death toll in gaza due to hostilities during the first nine months of the war was about 40 percent higher than the figures recorded by the gaza health ministry. beirut: twenty six days after nawaf salam was assigned to form a lebanese government, the decrees for its formation were announced on saturday from the presidential palace. president joseph aoun accepted the resignation of najib mikati’s government. the council of ministers is scheduled to hold its first session at the presidential palace next tuesday. in a speech after announcing the formation of the government, salam said he hoped that “it would be a government of reform and salvation, because reform is the only way for lebanon to rise.” he added: “with president aoun, we launch the workshop to build a new lebanon.” he said that “the diversity of ministers’ names will not hinder the function of government, and no government formation will satisfy everyone. we will work in a unified manner. i am keeping in mind the establishment of a state of law and institutions, and we are laying the foundations for reform and rescue. there is no room to turn back time, and we must begin work immediately. “the government will have to work with parliament to complete the implementation of the taif agreement and proceed with financial and economic reforms. “the government will be a place for constructive joint work and not for disputes. i am determined to lay the foundations for reform and rescue in cooperation with president aoun.” salam continued: “this government will strive to restore trust and bridge the gap between the state and the aspirations of the youth. it must work toward the full implementation of the taif agreement, proceed with financial and economic reforms, and establish an independent judiciary.” he emphasized the importance of “ensuring security and stability in lebanon by completing the implementation of resolution 1701.” he said: “it is difficult for any government formation to satisfy everyone. however, the government will endeavor to be cohesive, and diversity will not serve as a source of obstruction to its work, nor will it provide a platform for narrow interests.” the government included tarek mitri as deputy prime minister, michel menassa as defense minister, ahmad hajjar as interior minister, youssef raji as foreign minister, yassine jaber as finance minister, ghassan salameh as culture minister, laura khazen lahoud as tourism minister, kamal chehade as minister of displaced persons and artificial intelligence, nora bayrakdarian as minister of sports and youth, rima karami as education minister, adel nassar as justice minister, rakan nasser eldine as health minister, mohammed haidar as labor minister, joseph sadi as energy minister, amir bisat as economy minister, charles hajj as telecommunications minister, joe issa el khoury as industry minister, fayez rasamny as public works minister, nizar el hani as agriculture minister, fadi makki as minister of administrative development, tamara zein as environment minister, hanin sayyed as social affairs minister and paul marcos as information minister. salam’s government during aoun’s presidency has broken the norms established by hezbollah and its allies over three terms, which dictated that the government be composed of direct party representatives and that hezbollah maintain a significant influence capable of obstructing decisions at every critical political or security juncture. a technocratic government has been formed, one that is widely acknowledged and uncontested by political parties. despite pressure from hezbollah and the amal movement over the past few weeks to form a government similar to its predecessor, both the president and the prime minister designate stood firm. as a result, they eventually formed a government that reflects the reformist spirit expressed in aoun’s oath speech. the new government has no members affiliated with the free patriotic movement, but it does have representatives close to the lebanese forces party. notably, it includes five women, and for the first time, a ministerial portfolio has been dedicated to artificial intelligence. the government consists of 24 ministers. its formation was delayed from friday to saturday due to disagreements over shiite representation. at noon on saturday, salam presented three candidates to the presidential palace for selection to fill the fifth shiite seat in the administrative development portfolio. fadi makki, former adviser to prime minister rafic hariri in 2002, was chosen. makki is known for pioneering the application of behavioral economics in public policy across the middle east. the announcement of the new government coincided with the conclusion of the two day visit by us deputy envoy for the middle east, morgan ortagus, who held discussions with several lebanese officials. ortagus’s statement at the presidential palace on friday caught many by surprise, when she said: “the us expresses its gratitude to our ally israel for defeating hezbollah. hezbollah must not be part of the government in any way. it must remain demilitarized and militarily defeated.” according to salam’s office, ortagus met him and reaffirmed “the us support for lebanon in this new era and government.” salam emphasized to ortagus the need for “international pressure to ensure israel’s complete withdrawal from the occupied lebanese territories by the feb. 18 deadline. this withdrawal must occur without delay or procrastination, in full compliance with international resolutions.” ortagus also met the parliament speaker, nabih berri. notably, during this meeting, she was not wearing the star of david ring she had worn during her earlier meeting with the president on friday. while ortagus did not make a statement, berri’s media office reiterated that “israel’s continued occupation of lebanese territories necessitates our resistance.” in a separate development, israeli forces continued to demolish homes in villages along the southern border. meanwhile, for a third consecutive day, deadly clashes intensified in north east lebanon along the syrian border and in villages straddling lebanese and syrian territories. on friday, aoun held a phone conversation with syrian president ahmad al sharaa. they both agreed to coordinate efforts to control the situation on the lebanese syrian border and prevent civilian casualties. the border town of jarmash was targeted by missiles and drones, while additional missiles landed near the lebanese town of qasr, leaving one civilian seriously injured. after the shelling of the border area, the lebanese red cross transported eight wounded people to hospitals in hermel. the lebanese town of qanafez, on the northern border of hermel, was hit by artillery shelling from the qusayr countryside, breaking a night of relative calm. armed clansmen intercepted and shot down three shaheen drones over the northern border villages of hermel, after they were launched from syrian territory. according to the lebanese national news agency, they also destroyed a tank in the town of jarmash. lebanese media reports indicated that 10 members of hayat tahrir al sham were killed, while three others were captured in the aftermath of the clashes. the clashes broke out last thursday when forces aligned with the new syrian administration advanced on the border town of hawik as part of a sweeping operation to “seal off smuggling routes for weapons and contraband.” washington: he has no foreign policy experience but sports a reputation as a talented negotiator unafraid to speak his mind. and donald trump’s special middle east envoy steve witkoff has already made his mark. a close friend to the us president, 67 year old real estate magnate witkoff is credited with playing a key role in negotiating the ceasefire in gaza between israel and the hamas armed group. the truce took effect january 19, on the eve of trump’s inauguration for a second term in the white house. this week, witkoff found himself in the spotlight, defending the us president’s stunning suggestion that he wanted to “take over” the gaza strip and move its two million palestinian inhabitants elsewhere. “when the president talks about cleaning it out, he talks about making it habitable, and this is a long range plan,” witkoff told reporters at the white house just ahead of a joint news conference by trump and visiting israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. “and this guy knows real estate,” national security adviser mike waltz, appearing alongside the special envoy, said with a smile. speaking later that day on fox news, witkoff continued laying out the administration’s justification for the notion of a large scale relocation of palestinians from gaza   even as the idea drew fire in the region, with some calling it tantamount to ethnic cleansing. “a better life is not necessarily tied to the physical space that you’re in today,” he said, seeming to gloss over the complexities of the decades old israeli palestinian conflict. trump had nothing but praise for witkoff at the white house news conference. “steve, stand up, steve, please. what a job you’ve done. quite a good job. you’ve done a fantastic job,” he said. it was witkoff, a billionaire like his friend and a regular golfing partner of his, who was called on to introduce the new president at a celebratory gathering at a washington arena following his january 20 inauguration. though a complete neophyte in the world of diplomacy, witkoff was named as special envoy to the middle east only a week after trump’s election, a reflection of the two men’s close relationship. eight years earlier, after trump was elected for his first term, he named another diplomatic novice   his son in law jared kushner   to the same position. even before trump took office, witkoff joined in the gaza ceasefire talks, taking part in a final round of negotiations in early january alongside brett mcgurk, the middle east adviser to then president joe biden. it was a rare collaboration between an outgoing and incoming us administration. after attending the talks in the qatari capital of doha, witkoff flew to israel on a saturday   interrupting netanyahu on the jewish sabbath   in an urgent bid to finalize an agreement. then on january 29, witkoff traveled to gaza, much of which has been reduced to rubble after 15 months of an israeli offensive launched in response to hamas’s october 7, 2023, attack. he was the first us official to visit the territory since the war began. in an article published thursday by foreign policy journal, steven cook, an expert with the council on foreign relations, said that witkoff’s lack of diplomatic experience could be an advantage, giving him a fresh perspective. still, he added: “the israel palestine conflict is not a real estate deal.” born on march 15, 1957, in the new york borough of the bronx, witkoff made his fortune in real estate, first as a corporate lawyer and then at the head of big realty firms. in 1997, he founded the witkoff group, which describes itself as “one part developer, one part investor (and) one part landscape changer.” his wife and a son work there. a graduate of hofstra university near new york, witkoff has several children, including one who died in 2011, aged 22, from an oxycontin overdose.

editor’s note: on march 12, 2024, hebrew university suspended palestinian professor nadera shalhoub kevorkian for denouncing israel’s genocide in gaza. the university justified the suspension by saying it would “preserve a safe climate on campus.” shalhoub kevorkian had been under pressure to resign from the university since late october, when she signed a call for an immediate ceasefire in gaza. we, the palestine global mental health network, with the networks of australia, canada, france, ireland, south africa, the united kingdom, and the united states, are unified in denouncing the hebrew university’s suspension of professor nadera shalhoub kevorkian. professor shalhoub kevorkian is not only a respected academic in the fields of social work and law but also a world renowned feminist scholar whose extensive work has illuminated the multifaceted impacts of militarization, surveillance, and violence on the lives of palestinian women and children. this decision by the hebrew university sends a chilling message to scholars worldwide, particularly those engaged in critical studies and activism that challenge injustices and seek to uncover the truths that lie beneath the surface of politically charged contexts. academic freedom is a cornerstone of any democratic society, allowing scholars to pursue research, teach, and disseminate knowledge without fear of censorship, retribution, and silencing. the suspension of professor shalhoub kevorkian is a direct affront to this principle, jeopardizing not only her career and personal well being but also the integrity and independence of academic inquiry at a global level. the actions taken against professor shalhoub kevorkian are particularly alarming in the context of her dedication to advocating for the mental health and human rights of palestinian communities. through her groundbreaking research and community engagement, she has provided invaluable insights into the psychological and social ramifications of living under prolonged conflict and oppression. silencing her voice undermines not only academic freedom but also the broader struggle for human rights and dignity in palestine and beyond. as networks committed to the promotion of mental health and the protection of human rights, we stand in solidarity with professor nadera shalhoub kevorkian and call for her immediate reinstatement at the hebrew university. we urge academic institutions worldwide to recognize the gravity of this situation and to reaffirm their commitment to protecting the rights of scholars, particularly those who, like professor shalhoub kevorkian, have attained international influence and a global following. we ask you to join us in condemning this unjust action and supporting measures that safeguard academic freedom and the rights of scholars everywhere. we urge you to consider sending letters to the following individuals at the hebrew university: 1) asher cohen (president, hupres@savion.huji.ac.il ) 2) tamir sheafer (rector, rector@savion.huji.ac.il ), 3) asher ben arieh (dean of social work, benarieh@mail.huji.ac.il ) 4) tomer broude (law dean, tomerbroude@gmail.com) subject: urgent appeal for reinstatement of professor nadera shalhoub kevorkian dear [name of hebrew university member], i write to express grave concern over professor nadera shalhoub kevorkian’s suspension, a move that contradicts the principles of academic freedom and integrity. as a renowned scholar, her work is crucial for understanding the impacts of conflict on vulnerable communities. this decision not only affects her but signals a worrying stance on scholarly debate and inquiry by the hebrew university. i urge you to restore professor shalhoub kevorkian to her position, reaffirming your commitment to academic freedom and the vital role of scholars in society. this action would demonstrate the university’s support for critical thinking and scholarly integrity, reinforcing its position as a leader in academic excellence and human rights advocacy. sincerely, [your name] [your position] [your organization] [contact information] hebrew university is by definition a jewish israeli institution. why should any school accord a teaching position to someone who hates its administrators, faculty and students and wants to subjugate and expel them? anyone who’s jewish and has the least interest in self preservation on any level incurs mondoweiss’ opprobrium, and the latter boasts with a straight face about its “honest reporting.” it doesn’t seem to have much respect for the intelligence of its readers. palestine global mental health network the palestine global mental health network aims to promote the ideals of mental wellbeing, liberation, dignity, and social justice for peoples and societies throughout the planet and for palestinians in particular. to learn more, visit: www.pgmhn.org. © 2025 mondoweiss. all rights reserved. type above and press enter to search. press esc to cancel.

on april 18, israeli police arrested professor nadera shalhoub kevorkian, a renowned palestinian scholar and my former academic supervisor at the hebrew university of jerusalem. they kept her in detention overnight   in conditions designed to break her spirit, like other palestinian political prisoners   before a court ordered her release, rejecting the police’s demand to extend her time behind bars. the arrest and ensuing interrogations are the latest phase in the israeli authorities’ crusade against the professor, who is a vocal advocate of palestinian rights and an outspoken critic of zionism. shalhoub kevorkian’s incarceration was clearly intended to be as cruel and dehumanizing as possible. according to her family, police officers raided her house in the old city of jerusalem without warning, searching and confiscating her books, papers, notes, and interview transcripts. during her interrogation and detention, the officers subjected the 64 year old to ill treatment and practices that amount to forms of torture: she was strip searched, yelled and cursed at, and thrown in a cold, isolated, and urine smelling cell infested with cockroaches; the cell was kept illuminated throughout the night with bright, buzzing lights to prevent her from sleeping; and for some of the time her hands and feet were shackled. shalhoub kevorkian’s requests to raise the temperature of the cell or be provided with warm clothes were refused, and she had to use a damp sheet that also smelled of urine to shield from the cold. the authorities even used her health conditions as leverage: suffering from dangerously high blood pressure due to the arrest, and fearful of potentially having a stroke, she had to plead with the prison doctor and medics to provide her with medicine. the transcript of her court hearings the following day reveals the authorities’ fervent determination to depict shalhoub kevorkian’s knowledge production as incitement. the hearings show that the arrest warrant and interrogation were instigated directly in response to her interview on the makdisi street podcast last month, particularly regarding her remarks calling to abolish zionism. when the defense lawyers pressed the prosecutors on how comments made in an english speaking podcast could incite violence against israel, the state argued that there are many people who speak the language, and some citizens could possibly be influenced. the state representative further claimed that while searching her house, the police found evidence linking her to “an anti israel institution by the name of defence for children international”   a human rights organization whose palestine branch was outlawed by israel in 2021 on the basis of spurious evidence. a few hours later, in the court of appeal (after the police’s first request to extend the detention was denied), the police prosecutor repeated the claim that the professor posed a danger to the public because she is potentially able to influence others through her scholarship to act against the state of israel. the police representative also recited a quote that he claimed to have obtained while interrogating “a nukhba terrorist,” (referring to hamas’ elite commando unit): “every day in jerusalem we see the army humiliating women and arresting young people. young people are beaten and unable to breathe.” when the judge asked what this quote had to do with the professor’s case, the police claimed that her scholarship and influential status could “brainwash hothead muslims” into conducting violent acts against israel   as if palestinians or anyone else needs to read academic articles in order to be angered by israel’s oppressive practices. although both courts approved shalhoub kevorkian’s release on bail, the judges still saw the palestinian professor’s knowledge production as potentially inciting. as a result, she was summoned for a series of interrogations. the case of professor shalhoub kevorkian illustrates the centrality of zionism as a supremacist ideology in all aspects of civil life in israel   even within its supposedly liberal institutions. it also exemplifies the policy of racial silencing and the meticulous, concerted effort to frame all palestinians, even a prominent scholar, as a national threat. indeed, shalhoub kevorkian’s arrest comes amid a vicious campaign of harassment against her from multiple sectors of israeli society. in late october, the heads of the hebrew university issued a letter demanding that the professor resign from the institution for signing a statement demanding a ceasefire and calling the gaza war a genocide. in march, the university suspended her in light of the makdisi street podcast in which she called for zionism to be abolished (the university declared in response to her comments that it is “proud to be an israeli, public, and zionist institution”), before reinstating her two weeks later. israeli authorities also detained and questioned her at ben gurion airport in late march upon her return from an overseas speaking tour. while the latest storm of harassment currently revolves around shalhoub kevorkian’s scholarship on indigeneity and settler colonialism, what ignited it is the false allegation made by the hebrew university on march 12 that shalhoub kevorkian is a “rape denier.” during her makdisi street interview, the professor argued that israel is using allegations of rape along with disproven accusations of beheaded babies on october 7 to fuel its propaganda machine and justify the ongoing genocide in gaza. this was by no means the focus of her discussion on the podcast, but the israeli media nonetheless latched on to her remarks and whipped up public anger against the professor. yet her comments were willfully misinterpreted: shalhoub kevorkian has stated on multiple platforms   before, during, and after the podcast in question   that she does not deny the possibility that rape and sexual violence occurred during the october 7 attack. what she emphasizes, however, is the need to dismantle the structures of power that use israeli women’s bodies as rhetorical cover in order to tear apart the bodies of palestinian women, invoking the arabic term ashlaa (“body parts”) to build an academic argument around the fragmentation of palestinian bodies and their society. in a meeting with the university heads, shalhoub kevorkian clarified her remarks, leading them to revoke the suspension. however, the university has not deleted its posts on facebook and instagram announcing her suspension, and is clearly not working to stop or even reduce the incitement they instigated against her. although shalhoub kevorkian has been released, the ghosts of her detention and the threat of future harassment remain ever present. on april 20, israel’s channel 12 released a news segment inciting against the professor, featuring commentaries that sought to debunk her scholarship and demanded that she be prosecuted for her research and her anti zionist opinions. it was a reflection of israeli society’s isolated sense of reality   a parallel universe in which they are the real victims. in the segment, israeli journalist omri maniv   who displayed a total lack of understanding of concepts such as affect theory and indigenous feminist discourse   attempted to ridicule shalhoub kevorkian’s innovative research on the concept of “unchilding.” maniv sarcastically stated that the palestinian scholar bases her scholarship solely on the words of children on the streets, as if the testimonies and experiences of victims of israeli abuses were not valid research sources. the same chauvinism was exhibited in the news segment when professor simon perry, a colleague of shalhoub kevorkian in hebrew university’s criminology department, questioned the quality of her research methods to argue that she ought to be discredited and suspended from her work; another colleague, professor asher ben arieh, similarly argued that she is unsuited for teaching the next generation. adding to all this, rather than defending their employee and her work, the hebrew university responded to the channel 12 report by saying that her research is “disconnected from the institute where she is employed,” and that peer reviews in academic publications are “not without errors.” in doing so, the university essentially distanced itself from all of her scholarly work, and delegitimized numerous international academic institutions   with whom shalhoub kevorkian publishes much of her work   for not centering the israeli narrative. it also belied the fact that the university has long approved and praised the work that she publishes in collaboration with her postgraduate students, and granted them their postgraduate degrees on this very basis. the role of shalhoub kevorkian’s colleagues at the hebrew university in the channel 12 report, especially in the wake of her arrest and ill treatment, shows how israeli academic institutions can only tolerate the production of zionist knowledge. when these academics felt that their ideological beliefs were under threat, they immediately became predators: they incited against her and whipped up public opinion to carry out a character assassination. in doing so, they sent a clear message to other palestinians that there is no space for them in israeli academia beyond serving as a fig leaf for diversity. the fact that the university refused to recognize the genuine danger that the incitement poses to their employee, her family, and her students shows that they cannot see beyond their loyalty to zionism and israel. as the university wrote in its first rebuke of shalhoub kevorkian’s signing of the ceasefire letter in october, “what is happening in gaza is not a genocide, [but] what happened on october 7 [in israel] is genocide.” haaretz journalist gideon levy put it aptly when he described israelis’ narrative: “no one can tell us what to do because we are the only victims.” and as the only victims, the logic goes, we can surveil our faculty and students, expel them, report them to the police, and still claim to be an institution that proudly cherishes diversity and free speech. in this, much like the israeli state, the university pushes democracy and academic freedom to the sidelines, putting jewish supremacy above all else. the hebrew university, like other academic institutions in israel, is an integral recruit to the zionist system. it produces knowledge to serve israel’s military industrial and surveillance complex. since october 7, academic institutions have made it a priority to serve the country’s war effort: they have suspended classes, promoted the recruitment of medical students to serve in hospitals (offering to credit their work as participation in military or civil service), and encouraged fashion schools to utilize their students to design and produce clothes with special pockets to carry weapons. some faculties also published posts on social media to recruit students for the country’s hasbara (propaganda) mission, and to spy on and report any “problematic” statements or behaviors by their fellow palestinian students. all the while, israeli students have been roaming campuses armed with guns, and harassing students for expressing any kind of dissent against the war or simply presenting their palestinian identity. as a result of this collective effort, in the first three months of the war, hundreds of palestinian students at israeli universities were arrested, disciplined, or suspended from their studies. many of these targeted students were denounced for posts as mundane as a qur’anic phrase or a jest like “victory shakshuka.” yet even as they foment this stifling environment, israeli universities are still featuring palestinian students and staff members in their promotional materials, advertising themselves as a welcoming place for all. meanwhile, many israeli academics have been hosted on israeli news channels and other media platforms since the start of the war, often espousing violent, racist, and genocidal rhetoric against palestinians; others took a more “moderate” approach to their commentary, but essentially endorsed israel’s war effort. one example of this was on a panel discussion on channel 14 last month, during which moshe cohen eliya, president of the college of law and business, addressed the singer kobi peretz regarding his racist song “may your village burn.” performing such a song among soldiers, the professor cautioned, was not helpful to israel’s “international efforts” due to its ongoing case at the international court of justice. another panelist replied, “i don’t know if you are following the news, but we are burning down their village, and it’s good that we are burning their village.” this remark was followed by cheers from the audience, more genocidal statements by the host and guests, and a smile on cohen eliya’s face. cohen eliya’s smile on national television threw me back to my experience as a student in israeli academia, including the hebrew university, where i completed my master’s under the supervision of shalhoub kevorkian. like other palestinian students, i frequently encountered racist and threatening statements from my jewish israelis classmates, to which lecturers either turned a deaf ear or echoed with their own degrading and threatening language. microaggressions were ever present. professors would claim to be disturbed by the call to prayer coming from the mosques of issawiya   the palestinian neighborhood adjacent to the mount scopus campus, and on whose lands the university has expanded over the years   but hardly minded the sound of police operations in the same area. palestinian students had to attend courses such as “israel as a jewish and democratic state,” forcing us to sit and listen to lecturers like the late ruth gavison talk about how zionism is a good and just ideology, with no mention of the ethnic cleansing campaign by zionist militias during the nakba of 1948, or what zionism has entailed for the native palestinians for over a century. we also had little say when the reznick dorms complex, which hosts the majority of palestinian students living on campus, was used as a police training facility in 2013. other times, the violence took a more blatantly aggressive form. one friend of mine had his dorm room raided and was arrested on the university premises for his political activism on campus. in the 2013 14 academic year, the student union’s utilities and office supply shop provided israeli security personnel with plastic zip ties to use as cuffs while arresting palestinian students during a protest on campus. as palestinians, we have been forced to normalize many of these overt and covert forms of violence in israeli academia to the extent that we can sometimes barely remember why they feel wrong. universities may have improved their services for palestinian students over the past decade, but the violent racial structures are still in place. to this day, many palestinian students and staff can never truly feel that their university or college is their academic and activist home. professor shalhoub kevorkian taught me to question these modalities of violence, not to take things as they are, and to situate the palestinian experience in a broader and global scope of settler colonialism. she taught me to stick to the evidence and be prudent, but not to compromise on what i believe is right. amid a hostile environment on campus and in the city, nadera was a home to me and other palestinian students whom she took under her wing. she cooked with us, discussed our papers, walked with us in the old city, taught us how to listen to the stories of people on the streets, and how to juxtapose them with data. she invited us to networking events and elevated our papers on various platforms. she pushed and still pushes us to be the best versions of ourselves. the voice of shalhoub kevorkian echoes today on american campuses. the attempts by elite universities to silence and villainize calls to stop the genocide in gaza and demands for a free palestine only prove that these modalities of violence are copied and transferred across borders. and like the repression on u.s. colleges, the relentless attack on shalhoub kevorkian has disrupted the status quo enjoyed by israeli academia, which for too long has pretended to allow freedom of expression while simultaneously taking an active part in the israeli war machine and its hegemonic narrative. by targeting people like shalhoub kevorkian, the hebrew university is teaching palestinian scholars and students alike that there is no place for them there. the academy, after all, remains “israeli, public, and zionist.” shahrazad odeh is a lawyer, researcher, and phd student whose work focuses on gender ramifications in legal systems, demilitarization, and the eradication of gun violence. our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. the world is reeling from israel’s unprecedented onslaught on gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by hamas in israel on october 7. our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence. our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. the world is reeling from israel’s unprecedented onslaught on gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by hamas in israel on october 7. our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence. we are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in israel palestine. the bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. emboldened settlers in the west bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on palestinians. the most far right government in israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence palestinian citizens and left wing jews who object to its policies. this escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on gaza. we are well positioned to cover this perilous moment   but we need your help to do it. this terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. palestinians and israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives. can we count on your support ? +972 magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where palestinian and israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. join us.

hamas, israel complete fifth prisoner swap under gaza deal trump revokes security clearances for blinken, jake sullivan thousands rally in paris against iran's leaders as israel bans unrwa, palestinian refugees fear for the future shock and awe: what can trump get done in his first 100 days? the vital role of civil society in building a post assad syria trump sending migrants to guantanamo isn't new the art of the steal: lawless sheriff trump goes rogue in gaza is trump's gaza 'takeover' actually jared kushner's last hurrah? mohammad rasoulof: prison, politics and his oscar nominated film justice for syria's rape victims is vital if syria is to recover the top middle eastern restaurants in london for valentine's day breadcrumb renowned palestinian feminist academic nadera shalhoub kevorkian has resigned from her post at the hebrew university of jerusalem saying this was due to her rejection of zionism and its "control" of israeli academia in the wake of israel's "genocidal" war on gaza. the news of shalhoub kevorkian's resignation circulated on wednesday as far right organisations   such as the self styled human rights group btsalmo (in his image)   celebrated her departure from the major israeli institution. shalhoub kevorkian's decision comes following an intensive public campaign of intimidation against her after she signed a november petition calling for an immediate ceasefire in gaza. following her signing of the petition, which was also endorsed by over 1,000 researchers across the world, the hebrew university asked her to "find another academic home". she was then suspended from teaching in march and briefly arrested in april for charges relating to "incitement" for her vocal anti war and anti zionist stance. her defence lawyer alaa mahajna told the new arab's affiliate site arab 48: "professor shalhoub kevorkian made the decision early on […] that it was impossible for her to work at a university defining itself as zionist, but which at the same time talked about freedom of expression and education". he explained that she had taken her decision before and informed the university she would not be continuing her employment there in the new academic year. israeli media and organisations such as btsalmo put shalhoub kevorkian's resignation down to the pressure placed on her by figures and organisations who condemned her anti zionist positions and her description of israel's war on gaza as "genocidal". israel detains then releases renowned palestinian academic however, mahajna clarified that the scholar had in fact based her decision on what was happening more broadly in israeli academia, namely, the hold of zionist ideology over universities, as well as the political persecution of those deviating from this ideology, and the prohibition of free speech. the campaign of harassment against shalhoub kevorkian reached its peak on 12 march 2024 when the hebrew university temporarily suspended her teaching duties due to her stance against the war on gaza and other anti zionist positions she had expressed in a podcast aired on march 9. in the podcast episode named "there is so much love in palestine", shalhoub kevorkian detailed her own experiences of working and living under the israeli occupation and spoke about the genocide in gaza, the israeli authorities' withholding of bodies, and settler violence. shalhoub kevorkian was later arrested from her home in the armenian quarter of the old city of jerusalem on 18 april 2024, and her home was ransacked by police. however, she was released after appearing before the jerusalem district court despite the police’s appeal against the court decision. 1948 palestinians protest for gaza on land day the police claimed that shalhoub kevorkian had engaged in "serious incitement against the state of israel by making statements against zionism and even claiming that israel is committing genocide in the gaza strip," and noted the "significant influence" her statements have. despite her release, she was subjected to several further interrogations at a police station in jerusalem. while her decision to resign was not recent, mahajna explained that the news had been circulated publicly on wednesday, after proceedings against shalhoub kevorkian had continued in recent months. "the right wing organisation btsalmo had filed a complaint to the university's ethics committee against professor kevorkian in may, and we responded that they had no authority to submit a complaint against [her], and the university administration agreed". he added: "btsalmo is a right wing extremist organisation with a racist agenda against arab citizens, which focuses its efforts and activity against arab academics in israeli educational institutions. "the work of this fascist and racist organisation is to constantly persecute arabs to satisfy the extremist israeli right." amid gaza war, ben gvir stokes arab and jewish tensions mahajna said that shalhoub kevorkian had received compensation from the university for its behaviour towards her, and ultimately her decision was due to "conditions which have been created in the israeli universities, which consider themselves to be zionist, and criminalize those opposed this". regarding her academic future, mahajna said: "professor kevorkian has received many offers from well known and prestigious educational institutions across the world, including harvard university in the us, and many other academic institutions […] and she will continue her career in one of the world’s prestigious institutions." this is an edited translation with additional reporting. to read the original article click here. this article was originally published by arab48. translated by rose chacko

member login join/rejoin renew membership the israeli military onslaught in gaza, increasingly framed as a genocide by leading scholars, un human rights experts, and human rights organizations, has triggered a new round of clampdowns in israeli academic institutions. this wave of oppression began in the immediate aftermath of the october 7 attacks and their indiscriminate and criminal targeting of israeli civilians. in the early days after the attack, many academics who attempted to situate the events of october 7 in a broader historical, political, and sociological context that was critical of israel were immediately disciplined by their administrations, even when they unequivocally condemned the attacks. for example, professor nurit peled elhanan, who denounced the october 7 attacks by calling them a massacre, was suspended from david yellin academic college for education for making reference to jean paul sartre’s analysis of the grievous forms of violence deployed by colonized peoples to free themselves from colonialism. later, the persecution extended to those who criticized israel’s military offensive in gaza, declared by the international court of justice (icj) to be a plausible violation of the genocide convention, and to those who expressed sympathy toward palestinian civilians in gaza. according to a report published by adalah, the legal center of arab minority rights in israel, approximately 160 palestinian students from thirty six institutions faced disciplinary actions from their israeli academic institutions. approximately 6 percent of the targeted students were permanently expelled from their institutions without any disciplinary process. nearly half (47 percent) of the targeted students were temporarily suspended prior to the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against them. the testimony of students documents how the disciplinary hearings turned into mccarthyite interrogations, focusing on the students’ political opinions after misconstruing or misrepresenting their social media posts. the minister of education, yoav kish, publicly endorsed these measures, issuing a letter asking universities to suspend or expel individuals who, in his view, supported terrorism. leading palestinian and anti zionist israeli scholars within israeli academic institutions were silenced and harassed, with the suspension of professor nadera shalhoub kevorkian by the authorities of the hebrew university being emblematic of this new wave of oppression (see sidebar). international condemnation and even a degree of domestic criticism of such intimidating and coercive measures soon followed. however, most denunciations framed shalhoub kevorkian’s suspension (and that of others) as an issue of academic freedom while ignoring or obscuring the broader context in which incidents such as her suspension had occurred. this framing makes sense only if one assumes that israeli academic institutions are bastions of academic freedom and, therefore, that these recent incidents are deviations from an otherwise liberal academic trajectory. many western academic institutions promulgate this narrative about the liberal trajectory of israeli academic institutions. for example, in advertising a dual degree program with tel aviv university, columbia university has claimed that tau shares tel aviv’s “unshakable spirit of openness and innovation and boasts a campus life as dynamic and pluralistic.” this narrative ignores the well documented role of israeli academic institutions in shaping and legitimizing systems of oppression that control the lives of palestinians. it also obscures the different ways in which israeli academic institutions benefited from the dispossession of palestinians. tau itself was partially built on the ruins of the destroyed palestinian village of al shaykh muwannis. while principles of academic freedom remain central to arguments opposing the targeting of academic dissenters, framing the coercive measures deployed by israeli academic institutions as simply an academic freedom issue can obscure the other issues at play. an exclusive focus on academic freedom conceals the broader context in which israeli academic institutions have played a key role in the production of knowledge and capabilities that have justified and enabled different forms of violence against palestinians. seen from this perspective, the persecution of dissenters should be treated as one of the many facets of academic complicity in the oppression of palestinians. the targeting of academics for speaking out against israel’s military onslaught in gaza has been routinely framed as an issue of freedom of expression. for example, the british society of middle eastern studies issued multiple letters condemning israeli academic institutions for attempting to silence and discipline scholars who voiced opposition to the war, including a general letter of concern over the suspension and investigation of palestinian students and staff members in israeli academic institutions, a letter concerning the suspension of professor nurit peled elhanan, a letter of concern over the dismissal of uri horesh from achva academic college, and two letters concerning the harassment and suspension of shalhoub kevorkian from the hebrew university. the middle east studies association also described the actions taken against shalhoub kevorkian as “violating her academic freedom and her professional opinion as a critical criminologist.” likewise, academia for equality, an organization of academics that promotes democratization, equality, and access to higher education for all communities in israel/palestine, sent a letter of concern over the suspension of shalhoub kevorkian, characterizing the issue as one of academic freedom and arguing that “freedom of expression and research is quintessential to academic life, and without it, universities lose their raison d’être.” when academic freedom is centered in this manner, it obscures the role of israeli academia in normalizing and enabling different forms of violence against palestinians. it is not surprising, then, that palestinian scholars have used a different framing. for example, in its letter to the hebrew university, the haifa based mada al carmel, the arab center for applied social research, argued, “the incitement against professor shalhoub kevorkian provides stark confirmation of the longstanding complicity of this university, and of israeli academia at large, in advancing the zionist agenda: while the machinery of militarization seeks to erase our very existence, the israeli academy endeavors to erase our voices, history and narrative.” this framing rightly shifts the focus from the academic freedom of those teaching in israeli universities to the victimization of palestinians. in her recent book towers of ivory and steel: how israeli universities deny palestinian freedom, maya wind debunks the myth that israeli academic institutions are bastions of academic freedom. it provides a detailed account of how israeli universities constitute one of the pillars of israel’s regime of oppression. according to wind, these institutions were established as “land grab” universities, part of israel’s settler colonial project to “judaize” the land. university campuses were constructed as strategic outposts that abetted the expansion of jewish settlements and the enclosure of palestinians. the book highlights the close collaboration and ties between israeli academic institutions and israel’s military industry and security services, which was forged before the establishment of israel in 1948. as wind recounts, the zionist militia haganah operated a science corps to enhance its military capabilities with bases at three campuses: the hebrew university, the weizmann institute, and the technion. throughout the 1948 war, these institutions helped sustain the efforts of haganah and other zionist militias in executing the mass expulsion of palestinians. the two major weapons producers in israel, rafael and israeli aerospace industries, were developed utilizing infrastructure provided by the technion and the weizmann institute. the 1967 occupation only further entrenched the role of israeli academia in the production of expertise required to sustain israel’s rule over palestinians. today, israeli universities operate various programs and offer a number of degrees to train soldiers and security agents to enhance their capabilities. according to wind, soldiers trained at the hebrew university often serve in unit 8200, which is responsible for surveilling palestinians to collect sensitive information about their intimate life, including their sexual orientation, financial difficulties, or health problems. this information is used to blackmail vulnerable palestinians and to force them to collaborate with the authorities. since the recent war started, soldiers from unit 8200 have created “target banks” in gaza. israeli academics have also produced knowledge that normalized and justified the oppression of palestinians. the whole field of middle east studies, or mizrahanut in hebrew, was created, shaped, and funded by extra academic actors, including the military, intelligence organizations, and government ministries. many of the academic founders of the discipline moved between academic institutions and the security establishment. another example of this extensive collaboration between israeli academia and the security apparatuses is the establishment of research centers such as the moshe dayan center for middle eastern and african studies, affiliated with tau. the center was founded in 1959 as the reuven shiloah research center, a nonprofit association based in the israeli directorate of military intelligence and sponsored by the israeli oriental society. in 1966, it was incorporated into tau. on its website, the center declares that its “most significant contributions are often behind closed doors.” although scholars such as eli osheroff and hillel cohen argue that middle east studies recently evolved from a discipline “that identifies with the state and its security apparatuses” into a discipline “with a relatively critical stance regarding the regime and the society in israel,” others, such as eyal clyne and assaf david, argue that the field’s dependence “on economic, sociopolitical, and discursive conditions . . . make its decolonization impossible.” wind highlights how departments of middle east studies continue to offer academic programs for soldiers in elite military units and for security apparatuses deeply involved in the oppression of palestinians. international law, my own area of expertise, is another academic field that has shaped and legitimized various systems of oppression. noura erakat and others have demonstrated how israeli law professors contribute to the production of legal scholarship that has facilitated israel’s rule over palestinians. for example, in a 1968 article, yehuda zvi blum of the hebrew university argued that as a matter of law, israel could not be considered an occupying power in the west bank in the absence of any sovereign power, since jordan was not the rightful sovereign. this argument led him to conclude that “the rules protecting the reversionary rights of the legitimate sovereign find no application.” palestinians, according to this reasoning, had no sovereignty rights to be respected by an occupying power. in the ensuing years, blum’s legal construction was adopted as official state policy. more recent examples include the practice of “roof knocking” deployed by the israeli army to warn civilians ahead of an attack and the “dahiya doctrine,” which seeks to legitimize the use of large scale military force against civilian targets. leading international law experts and human rights organizations, including the united nations, amnesty international, and human rights watch, strongly criticized these practices for their failure to respect the principle of distinction and the principle of proportionality under international humanitarian law. both illegal practices were endorsed and legitimized by academics at israeli academic institutions, including at the institute for national security studies, affiliated with tau. sociologist lisa hajjar surveys other practices and doctrines legitimized by israeli scholars that contradict the spirit of international humanitarian law. these include “targeted killing” and the repurposing of the concept of “human shields” the latter to justify the elevated number of civilian casualties by describing palestinian civilians as human shields used by israel’s enemies. more recently, israeli academic institutions have developed narratives that trivialize the apocalyptic violence in gaza. in the case of shalhoub kevorkian, the hebrew university administration claimed that the use of the term genocide to describe israel’s offensive was an act of incitement and sedition, and it leaked an internal letter addressed to shalhoub  kevorkian to the media before she had the chance to read it. put differently, the hebrew university not only failed to defend academic freedom in a time of crisis, when dissent was very much needed; it also contributed to polarization and deepened the vitriol in the public sphere by accusing those who oppose the war of engaging in incitement to violence and sedition. perhaps most important, it endangered the life of its own employee named in the publicly shared letter. the complicity of israeli academic institutions in the oppression of palestinians has not prevented the production of anticolonial and anti zionist scholarship outside of the academic mainstream. one could even argue that israeli academic institutions have benefited from this knowledge production, as it provides a veneer of liberalism and pluralism that can shield them from further scrutiny. however, the october 7 attack and the ensuing war in gaza changed these dynamics. when scholarship categorizing israel as an apartheid and settler colonial state started penetrating discourse at the united nations and in international legal institutions, the calculated tolerance for dissent within israel faded. with the adoption of provisional measures by the icj in the genocide case brought by south africa against israel, the israeli government launched an unprecedented campaign of persecution against any form of solidarity with the civilian population in gaza. in its attempt to make shalhoub kevorkian an example and thereby intimidate dissenters within the academic community, the hebrew university, declaring itself a “proud israeli, public and zionist institution,” aligned itself with an ideology that justifies the dispossession and oppression of palestinians. the issues at stake in such complicity extend far beyond those framed by academic freedom. frames are not ideas in themselves; instead, they can be part of a communication strategy intended to generate shared values and beliefs and to mobilize collective action for their promotion and protection. as sociologists david a. snow and robert d. benford have shown, frames “assign meaning to and interpret relevant events and conditions in ways that are intended to mobilize potential adherents and constituents, to garner bystander support, and to demobilize antagonists.” different framings invite different mobilizations and responses. if the cases of shalhoub kevorkian and others are viewed exclusively in the frame of academic freedom, reversing the suspension of academics and students could be perceived as sufficient remedy. however, if the issue is framed as one of complicity in the oppression of palestinians, a completely different course of action would be required, not only on the part of israeli institutions, but also on the part of academic institutions abroad that collaborate with them. the implications of the complicity of israeli academia in the oppression of palestinians can no longer be ignored, especially after the advisory opinion of the icj on the legal consequences of israel’s policies and practices. the icj found that israel’s continued presence in the occupied palestinian territory (opt) is illegal because it violates “the right of the palestinian people to self determination and the obligation arising from the prohibition of the use of force to acquire territory as well as certain of its obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law.” the icj made it clear that other states (and their public institutions) have certain legal obligations in relation to ending israel’s illegal presence in the opt. on september 18, 2024, the un general assembly adopted a resolution demanding that israel “bring to an end its unlawful presence” in the opt and that it do so within twelve months. the resolution also called upon other un member states to implement sanctions against “natural and legal persons engaged in the maintenance of israel’s unlawful presence in the occupied palestinian territory.” likewise, in october 2024, the independent international commission of inquiry on the occupied palestinian territory, including east jerusalem, and israel issued a position paper on the legal consequences arising from the occupation. in it, the commission holds that “states shall not render aid or assistance to educational, academic, research or cultural activities that support or maintain the unlawful occupation. this applies to universities and other research or cultural institutions that support the occupation or that are physically located within the occupied palestinian territory and support the occupation.” if the academic community outside of israel is committed to the rule of law and the promotion of human rights and justice, allegations of the complicity of israeli academic institutions must be taken seriously. at a bare minimum, the role of israeli academia in the production of knowledge that has normalized different forms of violence against palestinians must be legally and morally scrutinized and accorded an adequate response. academic institutions outside israel should also recognize and examine their own role in the appropriation and reproduction of knowledge that trivializes and facilitates the oppression of palestinians. framing matters. the intimidation, suspension, and expulsion of academics and students should be viewed through the lens of academic freedom, but that alone is not enough. we must also reflect on the more urgent question: how should we engage, morally and ethically, with academic institutions that continue to form part of state apparatuses responsible for the oppression and subjugation of an entire people? sonia boulos is associate professor of international human rights law in the faculty of law and international relations at antonio de nebrija university in madrid, spain, and coeditor of palestine/israel review. on april 18, 2024, israeli police arrested nadera shalhoub kevorkian, the lawrence d. biele chair in law at the hebrew university of jerusalem and a prominent feminist, charging that remarks she made in an english language podcast accusing the israeli government of genocide in gaza and casting doubt on some claims about sexual violence on october 7 could incite violence. a court dismissed the charges the next day, but not before the sixty four year old palestinian armenian scholar had been “strip searched, yelled and cursed at, and thrown in a cold, isolated, and urine smelling cell infested with cockroaches,” her attorneys charged. “the cell was kept illuminated throughout the night with bright, buzzing lights to prevent her from sleeping; and for some of the time her hands and feet were shackled.” shalhoub kevorkian’s interrogation during her detention included questions about academic articles she had published, apparently the first time that an academic in israel had been questioned by police about a published scholarly article. previously, in march, the haifa native, educated at the hebrew university, was suspended by the university, drawing protest from israeli civil rights groups as well as a range of international organizations. the university reinstated shalhoub kevorkian after she clarified some of her controversial statements. although the university publicly condemned the arrest, pressures for her dismissal mounted. in june, right wing knesset member ofir katz, supported by the national union for israeli students, introduced legislation that would require higher education institutions to fire staff who denounce zionism or express “support for terrorism.” anyone dismissed under the bill’s provisions would be denied severance pay and retirement benefits. although israeli higher education unions and prominent university administrators have opposed the measure as “draconian and mccarthyist,” it was backed by the education ministry and passed a preliminary hearing last summer. in august, shalhoub kevorkian’s attorneys announced that she had made the decision to retire because “it was impossible for her to work at a university defining itself as zionist, but which at the same time talked about freedom of expression and education.” her decision came before the university announced plans not to reappoint her. in october, the department of anthropology at princeton university announced that shalhoub kevorkian would serve as the department’s global south visiting scholar for 2024 25. henry reichman

on 18 april, the legal scholar professor nadera shalhoub kevorkian, who holds the lawrence d. biele chair of law at the hebrew university of jerusalem, was arrested by israeli police and held overnight. her release was ordered the following day by the jerusalem magistrates court. professor shalhoub kevorkian is a member of the international advisory board of the british journal of criminology. in 2017 she received the radzinowicz prize, awarded annually by the editors of the british journal of criminology, for her article, ‘the occupation of the senses: the prosthetic and aesthetic of state terror’. in response to professor shalhoub kevorkian’s arrest and subsequent release, the senior editors of the british journal of criminology made the following statement: we, the editors of the british journal of criminology, express our grave concern over the arrest of professor nadera shalhoub kevorkian of hebrew university of jerusalem (huj), who is an esteemed member of our international advisory board. as the editors of a scholarly journal in the field of criminology, we affirm the importance of academic freedom, and the principles of an open, democratic society within which scholarly work can best flourish. we also recognise many principled positions, and disagreements, about the conflict in gaza, and the importance of building understanding and reconciliation. academics can play an important role in fostering greater knowledge and understanding, both in their professional capacities, and as members of the societies in which they live and work. we offer our support to professor shalhoub kervorkian, who is a leading palestinian feminist scholar and radzinowicz prize winning author, and call for the principles of academic freedom, and wider democratic principles, to be respected and upheld. the british journal of criminology: an international review of crime and society is one of the world’s top criminology journals. it publishes work of the highest quality from around the world and across all areas of criminology. it is published by oxford university press, in partnership with an independent editorial board and the centre for crime and justice studies (https://academic.oup.com/bjc). centre for crime and justice studies, 2 langley lane, vauxhall, london sw8 1gb registered charity no 251588. a company limited by guarantee. registered in england no 496821

supported by for 14 years, scientists have been growing a tree akin to the judean balsam   the source of the balm of gilead   but with no modern counterpart. by franz lidz a leading historian of antisemitism, he countered the prevailing narrative of jewish victimhood and later pushed back against efforts to diminish the holocaust’s significance. by clay risen marmosets are the first nonhuman primates known to use name like labels for individuals, a new study suggests. by emily anthes his work provided the basis for the worldwide best seller “the bible code,” but he later rejected the book as unscientific. by clay risen the investigation of prof. nadera shalhoub kevorkian of hebrew university has prompted a debate inside israel about the repression of free speech and academic freedoms since the war began. by damien cave and rawan sheikh ahmad he helped pioneer a branch of the field that exposed hard wired mental biases in people’s economic behavior. the work led to a nobel. by robert d. hershey jr. a collection of small flutes carved from waterfowl bones may have been used as hunting aids, a new study suggests. by franz lidz his work helped break down the chemical structures of thc, the psychoactive compound in marijuana, to figure out how cannabis makes users high. by alex williams a new approach to studying the history of old testament conflicts, courtesy of earth’s geomagnetic record. by franz lidz after a year of protests outside balfour, the prime minister’s house, israelis are debating what role they played in benjamin netanyahu’s downfall. by isabel kershner

the starting point for anyone wanting to grasp the realities faced by jerusalem’s palestinians palestinians comprise nearly half the population of jerusalem and have built, and shaped, the city for centuries, yet their stories are rarely told. the erased and all too often forgotten violent history of how west jerusalem came to be in jerusalem as in the rest of the country, land is the locus of the struggle for control. here we explore the status of land in jerusalem and its environs. israel has used jewish settlement as a pivotal strategy to control, disrupt, and radically transform the jerusalem geopolitical landscape. how the city of jerusalem works in tandem with the settler organizations to take away palestinians’ private homes by force. jerusalem is known as an open, international, “city of peace.” for millions of palestinians, however, it is a closed, virtually unreachable, city. israel's separation wall, called al jidar by palestinians, has drastically reshaped the geopolitical fabric of jerusalem. the 10 abandoned palestinian neighborhoods of jerusalem destined for excision from the city most palestinian jerusalemites have a legal status that is unique in the world: although they are indigenous, they are stateless. who represents palestinian jerusalemites? in east jerusalem, education has been a battleground since israel occupied it in 1967, and the struggle is only intensifying. for centuries, jerusalem has been holy to the three monotheistic religions. what are the realities facing those who wish to worship in this treasured holy space today? how have palestinian jerusalemites helped build health care in the city, and how is that system treating them today? how do ubiquitous surveillance, mass arrests, and prolonged detentions facilitate israel’s iron grip of control over palestinian jerusalemites? credit: courtesy of adalah legal team a new threshold is crossed in the demise of freedom of speech in israel: the ivory tower becomes the next target of the state. a palestinian jerusalemite professor is the “sacrificial lamb.” on thursday, april 18, around 5:00 p.m., a swarm of israeli police arrested dr. nadera shalhoub kevorkian of the hebrew university of jerusalem from her bedroom in her home in the old city. according to the legal team, this is the first time in israel’s history that a professor has been arrested for published scholarship or speech.1 shalhoub kevorkian, a dual us israeli citizen who is palestinian, is the lawrence d. biele chair in law at the hebrew university of jerusalem’s faculty of law, institute of criminology, and paul baerwald school of social work and social welfare. she is also the global chair in law at queen mary university of london. the arrest was on suspicion of incitement. the police accusations were based on statements that shalhoub kevorkian made on the podcast makdisi street, released on march 8, 2024. in the episode, titled “there is so much love in palestine,” shalhoub kevorkian, an anti zionist, detailed accounts of her own experiences of working and living under the oppressive israeli regime and spoke about the genocide in gaza, the israeli authorities’ withholding of corpses, extreme settler violence, and zionism, among other things. while at her house, the police searched it for an hour, confiscating her laptop and phone, her latest academic work in progress (which they demanded), a couple of books, and some posters of poetry by mahmoud darwish, which they ripped down off the walls. inhumane conditions during her 24 hours in custody, shalhoub kevorkian, who is in her early 60s with health conditions, was handcuffed and shackled, marched down three flights of stairs, and interrogated for hours mostly about her published academic work. she was then locked in solitary confinement in a freezing cold, cockroach infested cell that reeked of urine. a vomit encrusted blanket was the only protection from the cold provided. when her ear started to bleed from elevated blood pressure, she requested medication, but the request was denied. the cell remained harshly lit all night, and a buzzing noise continuously sounded, preventing any possibility of sleep. although the hearing was scheduled for the next morning at 9:30 a.m., it did not begin until about 1:00 p.m. the timing was significant, since all israeli government offices close on friday around 4:00 p.m. for shabbat and do not reopen until sunday morning. this week, the passover holiday starts the day after, on monday, so there was a possibility that she would remain detained for more than a week. given that the arrest happened on april 18, but the objectionable podcast aired weeks earlier on march 8, one might suspect that the timing of the arrest was not accidental. she was locked in solitary confinement in a freezing cold, cockroach infested cell that reeked of urine. first hearing the police made their case first in the jerusalem magistrate’s court. dr. nadera shalhoub kevorkian, senior faculty member of the hebrew university of jerusalem, attends a hearing on her arrest on suspicion of “incitement” at the jerusalem magistrate’s court, march 19, 2024. credit:&nbsp oren ziv shalhoub kevorkian was represented by attorneys alaa mahajana and dr. hassan jabareen, director of adalah the legal center for arab minority rights in israel. the police claimed that shalhoub kevorkian had engaged in “serious incitement against the state of israel by making statements against zionism and even claiming that israel is committing genocide in the gaza strip.”2 according to a press release by adalah, the police claimed that such statements constituted incitement, asserting that “professor [shalhoub kevorkian] has a significant influence with her statements. there is extensive exposure both domestically and internationally.” additionally, the police noted that they had found posters in her home “portraying idf soldiers as an occupying army.”3 the police asserted that shalhoub kevorkian’s language in the podcast “poses danger since she has influence and the things she says can be interpreted in one way or another . . .”4 therefore, they requested to extend her arrest by seven days (given the fact that the upcoming week is the passover holiday, this would effectively have meant more like 10 days). in his decision, judge dov poluk stated: upon reviewing the investigation materials presented before me, it appears that the case concerns remarks made by the respondent during a podcast on march 8, 2024. after reviewing the material, it appears that there are a few statements that may cross the line of freedom of expression into incitement. it has been more than a month since the podcast, and it is unclear why no actions were taken against the respondent earlier if the plaintiff believed she posed a danger. following the arrest of the respondent, a search was held in her home, and no real evidence was found to bolster the claim of her dangerousness or to suggest additional offenses.5 there, the judge ordered that shalhoub kevorkian be released while the investigation proceeded under three conditions:6 second hearing the police then appealed the ruling that same afternoon around 3:30 p.m. in a higher court, the jerusalem district court, before judge abraham rubin. the judge concurred with the magistrate’s court decision and dismissed the police’s appeal. based on these decisions, shalhoub kevorkian was released under the conditions listed above. demonstrators hold signs outside the jerusalem court in support of dr. nadera shalhoub kevorkian’s release, march 19, 2024. credit:&nbsp waed ghantous the police noted that they had found posters in her home “portraying idf soldiers as an occupying army.” ongoing investigation no charges have been officially pressed against her yet, but the case remains open, and the investigation is ongoing. the police retained possession of her devices and the other materials seized from her home during the search. “this is an illegal arrest whose purpose is to intimidate and harm any critical voices in the israeli academy,”7 said her attorneys mahajna and jabareen. according to adalah, which defended her in court: the police’s arguments clearly show that the arrest of professor shalhoub kevorkian is unlawful, targeting her research, academic work, and opinions critical of israel in international forums. the police failed to demonstrate or explain how professor shalhoub kevorkian’s statements constituted incitement, with the courts’ finding no merit to their claims that she was dangerous or that her detention was warranted. with the direction and encouragement of openly racist national security minister itamar ben gvir, the police are now persecuting senior, world renowned academics based on their dissenting opinions and academic work.8 indeed, after her arrest, israel’s national security minister itamar ben gvir publicly praised the arrest, saying he “congratulates” [the police] for detaining the “professor who incited against the state of israel.” according to him, the apprehension “sends the significant message that those who incite against israel will not be able to hide under such titles or roles.”9 in response, palestinian mk ahmad tibi (ta’al) responded, “those who paved the way for this investigation are the shameful and cowardly administration of the hebrew university.”10 “this is an illegal arrest whose purpose is to intimidate and harm any critical voices in the israeli academy.” attorneys alaa mahajna and hassan jabareen, representing nadera shalhoub kevorkian a toxic climate the arrest followed months of harassment against her by the hebrew university of jerusalem and its leadership, which publicly asked her to resign after she signed a petition in october that called israel’s assault on gaza a genocide.11 as a tenured professor, shalhoub kevorkian cannot be fired. she did not resign. she is a senior faculty member at the university where she has taught, worked, and undertaken extensive research for decades. three of her graduate degrees (bsw, ma, and phd) were also conferred by the university in the 1980s and 1990s, according to her cv. a partial list of her books appears at the end of this story. on march 12, the university suspended her for comments she made on the makdisi street podcast a few days earlier.12 they released a humiliating public letter that read, in part, the arrest followed months of harassment against her by the hebrew university of jerusalem and its leadership. since the beginning of the war, prof. shalhoub kevorkian has been speaking out in a disgraceful, anti zionist, and inflammatory manner. on oct. 29, in an exceptionally serious letter, on behalf of the university’s president, we suggested that she consider leaving her position. shalhoub kevorkian did not respond to the request, and continues to enjoy the reputation of our magnificent institution, while embarrassing us at the israeli and international level.13 at the time, the suspension provoked local and international outrage. about 100 hebrew university faculty members called for it to be revoked.14 shortly thereafter, the university retracted the suspension.15 over the past months, the university has tolerated all manner of harassment against shalhoub kevorkian on campus, including posters plastered everywhere calling for her termination. clearly, the revocation did not calm the incendiary climate that has been created around her, and in which her arrest took place. however, the hebrew university did call for her immediate release from arrest this week.16 shortly thereafter, however, it issued a statement in response to a report on israeli tv distancing the university from shalhoub kevorkian’s research and its methods. the statement said, “the university totally condemns the conclusions of shalhoub kevorkian’s research, as it was mentioned in the report, also we find that parts of her research are fundamentally flawed . . . ”17 updated: all in all, police summoned shalhoub kevorkian to the mevasseret police station three additional times for further interrogation, on april 25, april 28, and may 2, 2024. each session lasted hours. she was questioned on past academic publications, sources for some of her data, the meaning of academic terms such as “settler colonism,” “autologia,” “security theology,” and “sacrilization,” and her political views, among other topics. her legal team wrote a letter to the state attorney and the israeli police station regarding the repeated police interrogations, which they said exceeded the legal scope approved by the state attorney’s office for this interrogation.18 on tuesday, may 7, 2024, the police submitted their case to the prosecutor. now all that shalhoub kevorkian can do is wait. single authored books by nadera shalhoub kevorkian (with m. abdulhadi) tribal justice and its effect on formal justice in palestine. [in arabic.] birzeit: institute of law, birzeit university, 2003. mapping and analyzing the landscape of femicide in palestinian society. jerusalem: women’s centre for legal aid and counselling, 2004. (with n. abdo) women and political conflict: the case of palestinian women in jerusalem. jerusalem: women’s studies center, 2006. militarization and violence against women in conflict zones: a palestinian case study. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2009. security theology, surveillance and the politics of fear. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2015. incarcerated childhood and the politics of unchilding. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2019. mentioned by adv. hassan jabareen in his concluding remarks, “case no. 45839 04 24: state of israel vs. nadra kavorkian, april 19, 2024.” protocol of proceedings, informal english translation by the van leer institute, provided by adalah. also available on x. “jerusalem district court orders release of professor nadera shalhoub kevorkian,” adalah the legal center for arab minority rights in israel, april 19, 2024. “jerusalem district court.” “case no. 45839 04 24.” “case no. 45839 04 24.” “case no. 45839 04 24.” jack khoury, josh breiner, and nir hasson, “israel police arrest palestinian academic on suspicion of incitement to terror,” haaretz, april 18, 2024. “jerusalem district court.” khoury et al., “israel police arrest.” khoury et al., “israel police arrest.” orly noy, “hebrew university’s faculty of repressive science,” +972 magazine, march 23, 2024. “there is so much love in palestine,” makdisi street, march 9, 2024 [recorded march 6, 2024]. troy o. fritzhand, “hebrew university professor suspended after calling to abolish zionism, casting doubt on oct. 7 atrocities,” algemeiner, march 13, 2024; shira kadari ovadia, “hebrew university suspends palestinian scholar who doubted hamas sexual violence, accused israel of genocide in gaza,” haaretz, march 12, 2024. shira kadari ovadia, “‘basic principles of academic freedom’: 100 hebrew university faculty members protest dismissal of scholar alleging israeli gaza genocide, doubting hamas atrocities,” haaretz, march 13, 2024. shira kadari ovadia, “hebrew university professor who doubted hamas sexual assaults on oct. 7 to be reinstated after issuing clarification,” haaretz, march 28, 2024. eve young, “hebrew u., law prof. forum call for release of prof. shalhoub kevorkian, citing free speech,” jerusalem post, april 19, 2024. “the senior lecturer who spreads lies about israel” [in hebrew], channel 12 (israel), april 20, 2024. “prof. shalhoub kevorkian’s lawyers demand state attorney’s intervention following repeated, illegal police interrogations after her release from detention,” adalah, may 1, 2024. how could israel’s harsh new education law affect palestinian school in jerusalem? we asked hassan jabareen, a lawyer who is general director of the human rights organization adalah. israel escalates its war on palestine and palestinian identity with new education law. stay in touch with our growing community and never miss a story

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middle east tensions supported by the investigation of prof. nadera shalhoub kevorkian of hebrew university has prompted a debate inside israel about the repression of free speech and academic freedoms since the war began. by damien cave and rawan sheikh ahmad damien cave reported from jerusalem and rawan sheikh ahmad reported from haifa, israel. nadera shalhoub kevorkian, a palestinian professor at a prominent israeli university, first waded into the debate over the gaza war by joining academics worldwide in signing a letter that called for a cease fire. it branded israel’s assault on the territory a “genocide” and the leaders of her university responded by urging her to resign. that was soon after the war began on oct. 7. months later, the professor drew even more scrutiny for saying it was time to “abolish zionism” and accusing israel of politicizing rape. she was briefly suspended in march by hebrew university of jerusalem, where she has taught law and social work for nearly three decades. but right wing israeli politicians demanded more severe punishment and in april, the police detained her overnight. “i have been persecuted and defamed, my academic production of knowledge flattened and my home and even my own bedroom invaded,” professor shalhoub kevorkian, 64, told the new york times. the professor is now under investigation for incitement to terrorism   a crime punishable by up to five years in prison. and though she has not been charged, her case has prompted a profound debate inside israel about the repression of free speech and academic freedom since the war began more than eight months ago. the professor’s lawyers say she is being punished for her political views. and some other israeli professors and students worry that the country’s universities   which had long defended the values of relative diversity and open mindedness   have contributed to the suppression of dissent. while universities argue they are simply trying to keep campuses calm, critics say there is a clear double standard across israeli society: violent rhetoric toward palestinians from jewish israelis is often brushed aside while palestinian citizens of israel who express support for palestinians in gaza or criticize the conduct of the war face discipline or even criminal investigation.

university and colleagues condemn detention of law professor, the first time an academic has been held over speech related to work the arrest and interrogation of a leading palestinian legal scholar based at the hebrew university of jerusalem marks a new threat to civil liberties in israel, her legal team and employer have said. prof nadera shalhoub kevorkian was detained by police on the afternoon of 18 april over comments made on a podcast more than a month earlier and held overnight in conditions her lawyers described as “terrible” and designed to humiliate. “this case is unique,” said hassan jabareen, her lawyer and the director of the human rights organisation adalah. “this is not only about one professor, it could be a [precedent] for any academic who goes against the consensus in wartime.” shalhoub kevorkian was released on bail the next day when a magistrate and a district court judge both ruled she did not pose a threat, but has been called for further questioning on sunday. although there have been widespread detentions of palestinian citizens of israel who publicly criticised the war in gaza, this is the first time an academic has been targeted over speech related to their work. shalhoub kevorkian is a leading feminist scholar whose work focuses on trauma, state crimes, genocide, gender violence and surveillance.