STATEMENT OF ACADEMICS IN LEBANON

In this latest onslaught against Palestinians, Israel has attacked a university, the Ministry of Education, schools across the Gaza Strip, and several UNRWA schools. Such attacks against learning centers are not unique for Israel. Most particularly since 1975, Israel has infringed upon the right of education for Palestinians by closing universities, schools and kindergartens, and by shelling, shooting at, and raiding hundreds of schools and several universities throughout the occupied Palestinian territories.

Nor have these attacks been limited against Palestinians. As academics in Lebanon, we are all too familiar with Israeli onslaughts against educational centers. In its latest assault, in 2006, for example, Israel destroyed over 50 schools throughout Lebanon, and particularly schools designed for the economically disadvantaged in the South.

We thus stand, as academics in Lebanon, in urging our colleagues, regionally and internationally, to oppose this ongoing scholasticide and to support the just demand for academic boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel. Specifically, we ask our colleagues worldwide to support the call by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel to comprehensively and consistently boycott and disinvest from all Israeli academic and cultural institutions, and to refrain from participation in any form of academic and cultural cooperation, collaboration or joining projects with Israeli institutions as a contribution to the struggle to end Israel’s occupation, colonization and system of apartheid.

We further call on the enforcement of Lebanese anti-normalization laws with Israel, and thus for the prosecution of individuals and institutions in Lebanon that violate those laws and conduct collaborations, associations or investments in Israel or with Israelis.

We salute the recent statement by the Scottish Committee for the Universities of Palestine calling for a boycott of Israel, the letter signed by 300 Canadian academics to Canadian Prime Minister Harper asking for sanctions against Israel, and the appeal by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario University Workers Coordinating Committee supporting a ban on collaborations between Canadian and Israeli universities.

Academics in Lebanon who have signed on to this petition consist of faculty, lecturers, and graduate students from the University of Balamand, the American University of Beirut, the Lebanese American University, Notre Dame University, Lebanese University, Beirut Arab University, USEK, Lebanese International University and Global University. We call on our colleagues to add their name to this statement calling for full academic boycott of Israel and Israeli institutions, and calling our colleagues, throughout the world, and most particularly those in the Arab world and those claiming to stand in solidarity with the Palestinians, to comprehensively and consistently boycott and divest from all Israeli academic and cultural institutions, and to refrain from normalization in any form of academic and cultural cooperation, collaboration or joint projects with Israeli institutions as a contribution to the struggle to end Israel’s occupation, colonization and system of apartheid.

[to submit your signature, email Rania Masri rania.masri@balamand.edu.lb]

Sawsan Abdulrahim

Sana Abidib

May Abboud

Michel Abou Ghantous

Dahna Abourahme

Mona Abu Rayyan

Mohamad Alameddine

Rayane Alamuddin

Falah Ali

Mahmoud El-Ali

Rayan El-Amine

Karma Bibi

Nabil Dajani

Daniel Drennan

Nabil Fares

Nicolas Gabriel

Aline Germani

Sabah Ghandour

Rima Habib

Samer Habre

Nicolas Haddad

Hratch Hajetian

Roger Hajjar

Sari Hanafi

Sirene Harb

Diala Hawi

Ihad Hedroj

Sami Hermez

Ibrahim El-Hussari

Maha Issa

Samer Jabbour

Paul Jahshan

Fatme Al-Jamil

Maher Jarrar

Rasha Al-Jundi

Tamar Kabakian-Khasholian

Faysal El-Kak

Ghada Kalakesh

Rabih Kamleh

Samar Khalil

Nikola Kosmatopoulos

Michel Majdalani

Jean Said Makdisi

Judy Makhoul

Maya Mansour

Muzna Al-Masri

Rania Masri

Zena Meskaoui

Cynthia Myntti

Aida Naaman

Omar Nashabe

Hoda Nasrallah

Youssef Nasser

Mike Orr

Hibah Osman

Gillian Piggott

Daniel F. Rivera

Joelle Rizk

Nada Saab

Amal Saad-Ghorayeb

Sofia Saadeh

Naim Salem

Nisreen Salti

Helen Samaha-Nuwayhid

Rima Sarraf

Richard Saumarez Smith

Rosemary Sayigh

Kirsten Scheid

Eugene Sensing-Dabbous

Rabih Sultan

Lyna Al Tabbal

Jihad Touma

Hanan Toukan

Nazek Yared

Marian Yazbek

Samar Zebian

Hussein Zeidan

Mohammed Zubeidi

Huda Zurayk

Rami Zurayk

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