The Austrian Students’ Union (Österreichische HochschülerInnenschaft) will host a congress, Confronting Antisemitism [1] at the University of Vienna from the 15th to the 17th of November 2018. Israel’s embassy in Austria is a co-organizer [2]

From an historical perspective, we are dismayed by the choice of venue – the University of Vienna – which has doggedly persisted in standing on the wrong side of history. A hundred years ago this institution measured the skulls of non-Europeans for “scientific purposes”. Today, it supports the whitewashing and legitimization of Israel’s occupation and expulsion policies by making its facilities available to Israeli institutions and other supporters of Israeli Apartheid, while denying such privileges to the former Black Panther Dhoruba Bin Wahad based on his criticism of Israeli policies and support for human rights.[3]

Thus, while critical academics are boycotted and vilified, speakers who are known for their unconditional support of Israeli Apartheid are given the stage at the “Confronting Antisemitism” event. In addition, some of these speakers have in the past called for denying Israeli BDS activist Ofer Neiman and Holocaust survivor Hedi Epstein the possibility of speaking in publicly supported facilities. [4] Moreover, Alexander Feuerherdt, who writes for the radical, racist, right-wing website “Liza’s World,” gets the stage for his conspiracy theories. He claims, for example, that the repeated criticisms of the Israeli Apartheid state by the United Nations are “an expression of institutionalized anti-Semitism that is characteristic of the United Nations as a whole.” [5] Feuerherdt also accused the Jewish-Israeli activist Jeff Halper, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 together with the Palestinian activist Ghassan Andoni, [6] of “acting anti-Semitically,” [7] and of serving as the “principal witness” for the accusations Palestinian solidarity groups level against Israel. This choice of conference speakers could be interpreted as an embarrassing mistake, or as an attempt to promote the broadest possible academic discussion, but the co-sponsorship of the event by the Israeli Embassy, and the choice of an embassy official for the opening address are simply unacceptable.

As an anti-racist movement, we advocate that genuine past and present anti-Semitic phenomena be critically evaluated and dealt with. However, the labelling of people as ‘anti-Semitic’ because of their criticism of human rights abuses by Israel, is calculated to support the normalizing and legitimizing of Israeli occupation, Apartheid and human rights abuses.

More than 40 Jewish groups from across the world recently released a statement that opposes equating anti-Semitism with criticism of Israel’s policies and its system of occupation and Apartheid.[8]

Inviting a racist state to cooperate in an anti-racist event is not only bizarre and macabre, but also contravenes the ethics of science. After all, amongst other things, the Israel’s policies ensure that:

• Palestinian students and academics – inside and outside Israel – have their academic freedom restricted[9], are imprisoned[10] or even killed[11].

• new weapons and surveillance systems are developed in the context of an occupation that violates international law and are then exported throughout the world. Israeli universities participate in the development of these weapons, which are “tested” on Palestinian civil society, and then sold as “battle-proven.”[12]

• as this is written, the Palestinian population of Khan al-Ahmar is under threat of being expelled from their homes; their village is inundated with sewage, and bulldozers stand ready to demolish their schools and kindergartens.[13]

• at the Apartheid fence in Gaza, F16 fighter jets blow demonstrators to pieces[14], snipers shoot hundreds of people and maim thousands.[15]

• the European phenomenon of anti-Semitism, which had claimed millions of victims, is decontextualized and instrumentalized to construct a new and false anti-Semitism definition that is then used to stigmatize Palestinians and human rights activists, as well as to justify the inhumane and anti-democratic policies of the Israeli state.

Paraphrasing Bertolt Brecht, we would like to point out that there are various ways to kill people.

To list only a few, flood their village with sewage, have fighter jets blow them up, or lock them up in an open-air prison and cut the supply of vital necessities. Unfortunately, this hardly outrages anyone today.

That is why we call on academics and concerned people throughout the world to question the prevailing narrative, to manifest their outrage about the immoral and inhumane situation in Israel and Palestine, and to join the Palestinian call to boycott events with Israeli government sponsorship and/or official participation.

______________________________________________________________________

[1] https://facingantisemitism.oeh.ac.at/

[2] Although the Israeli Embassy is not explicitly listed on the Website, the Facebook page of the event list it as a co-sponsor. See: https://www.facebook.com/events/713614398997118/

[3] https://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20180620_OTS0184/universitaet-wien-untersagt-de-facto-oeffentliche-veranstaltung-mit-ehemaligem-black-panther-dhoruba-bin-wahad

[4] https://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20160307_OTS0090/offener-brief-an-buergermeister-dr-michael-haeupl-die-stadt-wien-sowie-die-verantwortlichen-im-amerlinghaus ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=14&v=QjN6xr9dxck ; https://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20160308_OTS0256/internationale-persoenlichkeiten-protestieren-gegen-die-absage-der-frauentagsveranstaltung-im-parlament-anhang

[5] https://www.mena-watch.com/mena-analysen-beitraege/un-menschenrechtsrat-blanker-antisemitismus-im-alten-stil/

[6] https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/u-s-quaker-group-that-won-nobel-on-israels-bds-blacklist-1.5729790

[7] https://lizaswelt.net/2017/12/25/die-israelkritik-des-jeff-halper/

[8] https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/30jewishgroupsbds/

[9] http://bdsberlin.org/2016/04/18/akademische-zusammenarbeit-zwischen-israel-und-deutschland-aus-sicht-der-universitaeten/

[10] https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20171214-israel-raids-birzeit-university-at-dawn/

[11] https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180421-palestinian-lecturer-shot-dead-in-malaysia/

[12] https://electronicintifada.net/content/cruel-experiments-israels-arms-industry/19011

[13] https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-can-now-legally-demolish-contested-west-bank-village-1.6515934

[14] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/10/israeli-air-strike-kills-palestinian-boys-gaza-181028211536125.html

[15] https://www.democracynow.org/2018/5/14/gaza_israeli_soldiers_kill_30_palestinians

Signatures (in chronological order):

Dr. Graeme MacQueen, Canada

Lucy Edwards, PhD, UK

Nahla Abdo, Carleton University, Canada

Peter Fitting

Ronnie Barkan, BDS in Hebrew, Israel-Palestine

Sunaina Maira, UC Davis, USACBI, United States

Marwan Rashed, Sorbonne University, France

Doris Ghannam, Germany

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, International

Sam Durrant, University of Leeds, United Kingdom

Haim Bresheeth, Free Speech on Israel, UK

Cynthia Franklin, Professor, University of Hawaii , USA

Stavit Sinai, Germany

University of Brighton, Professor of Moral Philosophy, UK

Cheristoph Glanz, BDS Initiative Oldenburg, Germany

Dr. Anthony Leaker, University of Brighton, UK

Ofer Neiman , Israeli citizen , Israel

Dr. Jeff Noonan, Professor of Philosophy, University of Windsor, Canada

David Comedi, National University of Tucumán and INFINOA (CONICET-UNT), Argentina

Mona Baker, UK

Prof. Stephen Pender, University of Windsor, Canada

Association des Universitaires pour le Respect du Droit International en Palestine (AURDIP)

Sophia Deeg, Germany

Dror WARSCHAWSKI, CNRS, France

Omar Ramahi, Canada

Deborah Cook, Canada

Samidoun Göteborg, Sweden

Em.Prof. Herman De Ley, Ghent University, Belgium

BACBI (Belgian Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, Belgium

Hadas Leonov, Israel

Dr. Angela Waldegg, Austria

Jules Townshend, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

Jonathan Ofir, Israeli citizen, resident in Denmark – conductor and writer on Israel-Palestine, Denmark

Boycott from Within (Israeli citizens for BDS) , Israeli citizens , Israel

Judith Bernstein, Germany

Tali Shapiro, Israel

John Chalcraft, LSE, UK

Wilhelm Langthaler

Amitai Ben-Abba, Israel/Palestine

David Klein, California State University Northridge, USA

Prof. Richard Seaford, University of Exeter, UK

Juana Celia Djelal, Retired faculty, United States

BDS Berlin

Michal Sapir, Israel

Dr. Med. Hiba Odeh, Palestine

Greilsamer Jean-Guy, UJFP and BDS (France), France

Dr. Les Levidow, Open University, UK

Adi Shosberger, Palestine

Michael Letwin, Jews for Palestinian Right of Return; Labor for Palestine, United States

US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI), United States

Ahmed Abbes, Directeur de recherche au CNRS, Paris, France

Tikun Olam, United States

Ken Baker, The Human Race, UK

Waltraud Schauer, Frauen in Schwarz

Danielle Ravitzki

Christl Meyer, Frauen in Schwarz / Wien, Austria

Annette Groth, former MP, Germany

Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Ireland

Anja Matar BDS Berlin, No Apartheid in universities

Ahmad Matar

Trade Union Friends of Palestine, Ireland

Philippe de Henau, Belgium

Dhoruba Bin-Wahad, Africa

Adanya Qaddafi , United States

Jan Van Herzele, Belgium

Shelly Steinberg, Israel

Cuba Si, United States

Dr. Nozomi Takahashi, Ghent University, Belgium

Josef Pampalk, PhD

Palestina Solidariteit vzw, Belgium

Dr. Raymond Deane , National University of Ireland, Ireland

FLOWERS FROM THE HOOD, Campaign to End the Death Penalty , USA

Jasmine Schmid

Theresa El-Amin , Southern Anti-Racism Network , USA

Robin Dunford, United Kingdom

University of Leeds, United Kingdom

Em.Prof. Marc De Meyere,University Gent, member of BDS, Belgium

Association belgo-palestinienne , Belgium

Angela Flynn, AfP , Ireland

The Association of Norwegian NGOs for Palestine, Norway

Gibanje za pravice Palestincev, Slovenia

Gruppo Ibriq per la causa e la cultura Palestinese, Italy

Nada Pretnar, Slovenia

Salaam ragazzi dell’olivo Comitato di Trieste, Italy

Dee Reynolds, United Kingdom

UK-Palestine Mental Health Network, United Kingdom

Kristine Martinsen , Norway

Jüdische Stimme für gerechten Frieden im Nahost, e.V. Deutschland, Iris Hefets (Vorsitzende), Deutschland

Paul Reynolds, Reader in Sociology and Social Philosophy, UK

Diensten en Onderzoek Centrum Palestina, Netherlands

USA Palestine Mental Health Network, USA

Palestina Solidariteit vzw , Belgium

Dr. Suzanne Ross, Clinical Psychologist, Educator, and Human Rights Activist, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, US

Samuel Welber

Monika Vykoukal

South African Jews for Free Palestine

Dr. Susan Blackwell, Netherlands

British Committee for the Universities of Palestine (BRICUP), United Kingdom

Robert Boyce, London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom

Prof. Jonathan Rosenhead, London School of Economics, United Kingdom

Ruth Moshkovitz, Universität Wien, alumna, Austria

The Iceland-Palestine Association (Félagið Ísland-Palestína), Iceland

Peter Unterweger, International Metalworkers Secretariat, ret.

Ariana Macon, Austria

Camillo Friedrich, Germany

Oskar Lechleitner, Austria