Wednesday 15 October 2014

Counter-statement by students at the University of Cambridge

To be added to the list of signatories, please email camisraelstatement@gmail.com


This statement comes from students at the University of Cambridge in response to the misguided and myopic statement issued by Cambridge academics on September 28 2014. We commend the general principle of calling for peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict, but we believe that we have a responsibility – whether also as practitioners of our various subjects, as students, or just as human beings – to speak out against the discriminatory practices of our university lecturers.



It is almost laughable to suggest that this summer’s conflict in Gaza and the asymmetry of power between the Israelis and the Palestinians absolves anyone of the immorality of singling out Israel, as these academics have done. Numerous conflicts around the world tragically involve far more civilian deaths and far more protracted wars. We implore these academics not to accept blindly the figures released by Hamas about civilian casualties. Rather, they should examine more critically the demographic evidence of those who have died, which suggests that the majority were combatants.



We note that these academics, who purport to be concerned with the humanitarian condition of the Palestinians, offer no statement on the inability of Palestinians in Lebanon to hold citizenship, own property, or enter many occupations. These academics, who take such care to enumerate civilian casualties in Gaza, offer no opinion on the 200,000 slaughtered and 5 million displaced civilians in Syria, or the innocents killed in Syria and Iraq by US airstrikes aimed at ISIS terrorists. These academics, who believe military asymmetry allows permission to single out a country, say nothing about the Chinese treatment of Uighur Muslims, Tibetan and Taiwanese separatists or Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters. It is in this context that we condemn these academics for singling out Israel, the policies of which are open to criticism like any government’s, but which has been deemed by this group to be the only country in the world worth criticising.



In our capacities as students of various disciplines, we may also emphasise different aspects of the history and current situation between Israel and the Palestinians. The lawyers among us may point out that every rocket fired from Gaza at an indeterminate location in Israel is a war crime. Philosophers among us may emphasise the moral hypocrisy in condemning Israel’s actions without a single mention of the abhorrent acts of terrorism committed by Hamas. Historians may insist that that the blockade of Gaza was a result of Hamas’ eviction of any Fatah government officials and the ensuing rocket attacks, not a cause.



We students similarly differ in our fields of specialism and our analyses of the Arab-Israeli conflict. However, we too are united on several points. Calling for an immediate lifting of the Gaza blockade without any consideration for the security of Israeli citizens is a foolish and misguided action. Calling for freedom and equality for all historic inhabitants of Palestine ignores the plight of the descendants of hundreds of thousands of Jewish inhabitants of the Middle East who no longer have access to their own historic homes in Arab countries. Calling for an end to victimisation of critics of Israel without also calling for an end to victimisation of Israeli supporters on campus and in the media continues the theme of discrimination by these academics.


We strongly condemn this list of Cambridge academics for singling out one country for criticism, for demonstrating a severe lack of nuance surrounding the complexity of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and for issuing an un-academic statement that achieves little save establishing the desire to discriminate against a sole nationality.


Signed:

  1. Josh Goodman, Churchill College
  2. Aviv Fonea, St Edmund's College
  3. Joshua Gertner, Jesus College
  4. Stephanie Posner, Jesus College
  5. Nina Rauch, Clare College
  6. Imogen Krell, Christ's College
  7. Shai Helfand, Wolfson College
  8. Alex Matthews, Corpus Christi College
  9. Jakub Szukask, Girton College
  10. Emily Bloch, Trinity College
  11. Naphtali Rabinowitz, St John's College 
  12. Heshau Mashhour, Trinity College
  13. Sam Gross, Trinity College
  14. Michael Leader, Queens' College
  15. Jonathan Shamir, Jesus College
  16. Millie Foster, Newnham College
  17. Jonathan Berger, Trinity College
  18. Zachary Shear, Robinson College
  19. Ezra Cohen, Jesus College
  20. Haim Abraham, St Edmund's College
  21. Adrian McGrath, St Edmund's College
  22. Mia Hamburger, Murray Edwards College
  23. Renate Fromson, Fitzwilliam College
  24. Deanna Green, Queens’ College
  25. Alex Davis, Downing College
  26. Lily Lerman, Jesus College
  27. Harry Richer, Gonville and Caius College
  28. Saul Farrell, Homerton College
  29. Shakked Halperin, Churchill College
  30. Ari Midgen, Murray Edwards College
  31. Darryl Bernstein, Downing College
  32. Olivia Gaunt, Girton College
  33. Simon Fox, Selwyn College
  34. Jake Leighton, Girton College
  35. Ethan Ezra, Sidney Sussex College
  36. Sarah Wolman, Robinson College
  37. Zac Levin, Robinson College
  38. Lucy Levy, Robinson College
  39. Robin Borchert, Clare Hall College
  40. Anonymous, Darwin College
  41. Alex Peters, Selwyn College
  42. Leo Jacobs, Clare College
  43. Daniel Lesner, Christ's College
  44. Mimi Shaul, Robinson College
  45. Stephanie Taic, Lucy Cavendish College
  46. Emma Webb, Trinity College
  47. Aryeh Dworkin, Jesus College
  48. Josh Marks, Emmanuel College
  49. Francesca D’Arcy-Orga, Robinson College
  50. Zack Case, King’s College
  51. Rafi Dover, Jesus College
  52. Gabriella Haffner, Fitzwilliam College
  53. Stephanie Lipman, Emmanuel College
  54. Zachary Freud, Fitzwilliam College
  55. Joel Collick, Jesus College
  56. Harry Kalms, Robinson College
  57. Johnny Harounoff, Jesus College
  58. Judy Kahan, St John’s College
  59. Charlotte Jacobs, Sidney Sussex College
  60. Olivia Ufland, Fitzwilliam College
  61. Oliver Brecher, Selwyn College
  62.  Ben Lewis, Jesus College
  63. Thomas Clausen, Trinity College
  64. Robert Hill, Wolfson College
  65. Isabelle Terry, Pembroke College

Endorsement by Cambridge academics

  1. Dr Allégre Hadida, Director, MPhil in Management, Judge Business School and Magdalene College