Academic Life Under Occupation: Escalating attacks on HE in the West Bank

Join us for this webinar exploring how Israel systematically suppresses Palestinian academic freedom, isolates West Bank universities from global engagement, and disrupts the daily functioning of institutions critical to Palestinian self-determination. Through lived testimonies and case studies, we will hear from those confronting these challenges firsthand.

While universities in Gaza have faced near-total destruction since October 2023, higher education institutions in the West Bank have also come under intensified assault. In this session, we turn our attention to the systemic targeting of academic life in the West Bank and highlight the voices of Palestinian educators and students resisting these restrictions.

Since the escalation of Israel’s scholasticide, the West Bank’s university campuses have witnessed an alarming rise in military raids, arrests of students and faculty, and physical destruction of property. At least 13 students have been killed during campus incursions. Hundreds more – many of them elected student leaders– have been arbitrarily detained, most under administrative detention without charge or trial. Movement restrictions, settler violence, and targeted harassment have made access to education increasingly dangerous, and in some cases, impossible.

New Israeli legislation intended to prevent employment of graduates with academic degrees from Palestinian universities has been backed by the Israeli government and approved for its final readings. This legislation threatens the prospects of Palestinians living in Jerusalem and Palestinian citizens of Israel studying at Palestinian universities. It also marks a tightening of control by Israel of the education system in occupied Jerusalem.

This event is part of the Education, Occupation & Liberation series, co-hosted with the University and College Union (UCU). The series brings together Palestinian, UK and international scholars, students and practitioners to explore the challenges facing Palestinian education and its role in building a free and flourishing Palestine.

This event is free to attend, but Fobzu relies on donations from supporters to run programmes like this. If you are able, please consider making a donation to support access to education for Palestinians.

Speakers

• Dr Anwar Abdel Raziq, Dean of Faculty of Education, Birzeit University: Dr Anwar is the Dean of Faculty of Education at Birzeit University. Prior to that Anwar worked for more than 20 years in the K-12 and university education as an instructor and as an administrator in the USA, Canada and overseas. Anwar is a Fulbright Scholar. He published more than a dozen articles in reputable journals, three books on foreign language education and leadership, and six book chapters. In addition, Anwar presented more than twenty five presentations at international conventions in the US, Canada, England, Finland, Netherlands and other countries.
• Dr Samah Jarrad, English Department, Palestine Technical University Kadoorie: Dr Samah Jarrad is an Assistant Professor of English Language and Literature at Palestine Technical University, Kadoorie. Her research explores postcolonial and feminist narratives, translation, and identity. A translator and language specialist for international NGOs, Dr Jarrad also brings extensive experience in language education and curriculum development. Her scholarly and pedagogical contributions position her as a significant voice in the field of English studies in Palestine and the broader Middle Eastern academic landscape.

• Chair: Dr Aisha Phoenix, UKRI Future Leaders Fellow, KCL: Aisha is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow. She has an ESRC-funded PhD in Sociology from Goldsmiths, University of London, Masters in Social Research (Goldsmiths) and Social Anthropology of Development (SOAS), a Postgraduate Diploma in Newspaper Journalism (City University) and a BA in Arabic and Modern Middle Eastern Studies (University of Oxford). Her PhD research focused on how Palestinian university students living in the West Bank narrated their lives under occupation to a foreign audience.