Destruction of Gaza education has created lost generation

Children and young people who survive Israel’s military campaign in Gaza stand little chance of receiving a proper education as the destruction wrought on the Palestinian enclave reduces its schools, colleges and universities to rubble, writes Alex Whiteman for Arab News.

Al-Israa was the last of Gaza’s four universities that was still standing after more than three months of bombardment. However, in mid-January, the Israeli army, which had been encamped in its grounds, blew it up. Footage shared on social media by Nicola Perugini, an associate professor at the University of Edinburgh, showed the moment the building collapsed, having reportedly been rigged with explosives. In response, Perugini called for “a full academic boycott” of Israel.

He is not alone. The British Middle East Centre for Studies and Research has also decried the “wholesale destruction” of Gaza’s education system and has urged UK universities to offer more support to educators and institutions in the Palestinian territory. A BRISMES (British Society for Middle Eastern Studies) email sent to UK vice-chancellors asks UK institutions to “commit to set up placements, fellowships and scholarships” for Palestinian students, enhance placements for Palestinian academics, and offer inter-institutional cooperation.
Full report on the Arab News site