Internationalisation experts debate approaches to war in Gaza

The rebuilding of higher education in Palestine amid the ongoing war in Gaza was a prominent discussion point at the 26th annual International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA) conference, ‘Navigating Internationalisation in Challenging Times’.

Amid the discussions on internationalisation at the recent three-day event near Johannesburg, several key questions around the approach to the Middle East were uppermost in the minds of delegates at the conference.

For example, the potential ‘conflict’ when international officers at universities have to engage diplomatically with stakeholders including agencies that represent countries that could be complicit in funding the militarisation of Israel.

Academics at the gathering questioned whether intercultural competence and ‘dialogue’ should occur instead of taking a stance to immediately cease all partnerships, research activities and exchange programmes.

There were questions about the academic freedom of the individual researcher versus the collective freedoms of academics, researchers, staff and students in the Palestine-occupied territories, which were also debated.

Academics and practitioners pondered how to balance values, ethics and human rights in contexts in which universities are not taking a firm stance in support of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on 24 July that declared Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank unlawful.

Plea from Palestinian academic

The online presentation of Palestinian academic Amani Al Mqadma struck a nerve during the discussion on the conflict.

“Please don’t lose hope in us. We started universities from tents and even without buildings. We will continue to provide education because education is part of our existence in Palestine, and we are doing a lot of things to be educated, providing education in Palestine in the Gaza Strip because, without education, we will not have a future. So please don’t lose hope. We will continue to provide education. We need your support to continue,” she said.

In her address, entitled ‘Stand Together to Support Higher Education Institutions’ Resilience’, she estimated the destruction and damage to tertiary institutions in Palestine at more than US$250 million. While thousands have been killed, learning and teaching have been severely disrupted for the country’s 105,262 higher education students at 17 tertiary institutions, which include six universities. At least 105 staff members have been killed, over 1,000 injured, scores detained and academics have not been paid in 10 months.

Urging the audience to stand together to stop the scholasticide, she said: “We need hope, not only for students, but for staff and the institutions that will build the future.”

In April, the United Nations expressed concern over the pattern of Israeli attacks on schools, universities, teachers and students in Gaza and the West Bank, describing the destruction of the Palestinian education system as ‘scholasticide’.

Approaches to the conflict

In a presentation titled, ‘The Role Paradox: Speaking truth to power or soft (power) diplomacy?’, Anisa Khan, the director of academic services in the Global Engagement Division at the University of Johannesburg, said some universities took distinct approaches to dealing with the conflict in Gaza.

She said some delinked research collaborations from general academic collaborations, meaning that universities maintained research links but terminated joint activities, such as staff and student exchanges.

At others, there was a foregrounding of academic autonomy – protecting individual academic freedoms by adopting a case-by-case approach to research and educational collaborations and where partnerships are evaluated through ethics committees or through the application of ethics frameworks that they are being especially adapted to “navigate internationalisation in challenging times”.

Khan noted that other universities adopted a knowledge security approach and have assessed, on a case-by-case basis, whether universities with whom they are partnering are using technologies in cases where knowledge may be used to advance weapons technologies or through ‘spyware’ that could infringe on the protection of personal information.

She said most Historically Disadvantaged South African Universities that have a robust anti-apartheid history took strong decolonial, anti-apartheid stances, with most supporting the Palestinian Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.

It also appears that highly ranked South African universities, or those considered to be the country’s top five institutions, have taken a more conservative approach to the call to end ties with Israeli institutions. The University of Cape Town, or UCT, is the only university in the top five that has adopted a senate and council motion relating to Israel-Palestine, which has been challenged by an academic in court this week because he believes it limits academic freedom.

Across the European Union, Ghent University, Belgium, was the only European university to recognise and acknowledge the ICJ ruling and has taken a position to end all ties with Israeli institutions.

Khan observed that universities also sought official guidance from the European Commission to assess whether Israeli institutions could join Horizon Europe projects.

The Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR) is asking for “clear recommendations and instructions on how to proceed with Horizon Europe projects that involve partners from Israel” so they can better assess Israeli partners’ compliance with Horizon Europe’s ethical standards.

Khan used a disclaimer while making her presentation, stressing that it was a personal reflection, not the institution’s, as she grappled with internal conflict, paradoxes, and pressures while trying to balance this with Internationalisation “for good”, which promotes and protects the rights of others to enjoy similar rights and access to higher education and a good quality of education (as envisaged in Sustainable Development Goal 4).

Again, there were more questions than answers. For example, what does expressing a view mean in terms of “academic freedom” arguments, especially within contexts where there are no guiding policy frameworks?

There are also personal risks and potential reputational damage in taking stances that “speak truth to power”.

Education and resistance

Against these questions and concerns, the discussion heard from academics and civil society leaders in Palestine, with Ghaid Hijaz, a student volunteer with the Right to Education Campaign at Birzeit University, sharing that their reality was one of constant rights violations permeating every aspect of their lives.

It was unlike any other educational experience worldwide, as theirs was interwoven with resistance.

“Activism in Palestine always transcends the university campus, as students have been pivotal in advocating for Palestinian rights, social justice and political change as we collaborate with the grassroots initiatives and participate in organised union activism. Our movement has, not only fought within academia, but has also stood as a bulwark against the broader occupation,” she said.

She said Israeli forces have closed Rosette University 15 times, with the most extended closure lasting, four-and-a-half years during the First Intifada. “Yet, despite these closures and constant threats, students have always found ways to continue their education, turning it into a form of resistance.

“When military closures were enforced, students and academics collaborated to resume the educational process, knowing that carrying a textbook could lead to interrogation and detention. It was not just about education. It was about defying oppression and asserting our right to learn and to exist,” she added.

When students could not move between cities, Hijaz said universities turned to online learning, which isolated students and disrupted the academic year.

Coordinator of the Right-to-Education campaign at Birzeit University, Sundos Hamad, said that, amid the “brutality” that people experienced, education has become a casualty, with higher education institutions in Gaza paralysed by bombings and deaths.

She could not fathom why education was under siege but added that, throughout the siege, there was a move towards online learning and, in past instances, lessons went underground, with classes held covertly in the houses of academics and students, the community centres, and anywhere else they could.

“I heard a story of an academic who held his class in a car to many students because of the curfew. At that time, students and teachers were arrested for attending school or holding books. Today, it’s not better than yesterday. We still face what is called scholasticide,” she said.

She said the Right-to-Education campaign was trying to build an international network to apply global pressure on Israel to stop its military strikes on civilians in Gaza.

Academics from Palestine thanked colleagues from South African universities for their support – expressing hope.