Intellectuals condemn targeting of critics of Israel’s war in Palestine
A statement endorsed by 470 intellectuals condemned the attacks against critics of Israel’s war in Palestine and criticized the Israeli ambassador for allegedly interfering with academic freedom in India.
The firmantes include Nandini Sundar, Rajshree Chandra, Maya John, Karen Gabriel and Apoorvanand of the University of Delhi, as well as former professors Anita Rampal and Achin Vanaik; Nivedita Menon, Ayesha Kidwai and Atul Sood of the Jawaharlal Nehru University; Rohan D’Souza of the University of Kyoto and Ravi Sundaram of the Center for the Study of Societies in Development.
Last month, O.P. The Jindal Global University in Sonipat, Haryana had distanced itself from a talk that Vanaik had given on the conflict between Israel and Hamas. According to reports, this occurred after the Israeli ambassador wrote to the university team expressing “extreme disappointment” at the conference that criticized Israel’s role in the conflict that has killed nearly 15,000 Palestinians and more than 1,000 Israelis.
In the recent past, India has expressed concern over the alleged interference of Canadian diplomats in the country’s internal affairs after the two countries expelled a diplomat each following the murder of a Khalistani separatist in Canada.
“We are issuing this statement to ask the university administrators and the government to respect our academic freedom”, says the communique.
“We oppose it in the form that any discussion on the historical context of the occupation of Palestine and the barbaric Israeli attack on Gaza, together with the denial of food, fuel and water, from 7 October 2023, is projected as support a brutal terrorist attack against civilians in Israel by Hamas on 7 October.
“We oppose the interference of the Israeli ambassador in academic freedom on Indian campuses…. “Defending the right to life and dignity of Palestinians, or pointing out the links between Zionism and Hindutva as ideologies of supremacists, does not amount to antisemitism”.
The art curator Ranjit Hoskote was recently forced to resign from a German art panel due to his support of a statement against an Israeli event in Mumbai, titled “The idea of the nations of the leaders: Zionism and Hindutva”.
Israel has asked India to stop Hamas, which launched attacks against Israel in October.
The Israeli ambassador, Naor Gilon, told journalists earlier this week: “When we saw (former Hamas leader) Khaled Mashal appear in a video (at a demonstration last month) in Kerala, calling on people to come out in the streets and plazas and demonstrations…. Probably this would have been avoided…. “We will see in the press here (Moussa) Abu Marzouk (head of the office of international relations of Hamas) giving an interview (to the magazine Frontline)”.
Indian laws do not prohibit the media from publishing interviews with members of prohibited groups.
The signers also condemned the police action against student demonstrations of solidarity with Palestine in Aligarh, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Coimbatore and other cities.
Lamenting that many of the opposition parties would not have “shown sufficient solidarity with the people of Palestine and, therefore, would have betrayed the history of their own struggle for the freedom of India”.
