Academics issue statement protesting arrest of Palestinian University Professor

Professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian

Academics from around the world have issued the following statement today following the arrest of Palestinian Professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian by Israeli police.

At 5pm on Thursday, April 18, 2024, Hebrew University professor and internationally renowned feminist scholar Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian was arrested by Israeli police at her home in the Old City of Jerusalem on the charge of incitement to violence. The police raided and searched her home and she is currently undergoing harsh and dehumanizing interrogation. Her lawyer said the charges against her are serious. Information about her release is unknown.

Palestinians in Israeli detention suffer physical, emotional, and mental violence. Professor Shalhoub-Kevorkian, who holds both Israeli and US citizenship, has been subjected to violent repression and harassment by the Hebrew University for speaking out against the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Furthermore, she was suspended from her teaching duties in March, though later reinstated once it became clear that there is no basis for the allegations against her.

The attack against Professor Shalhoub-Kevorkian is one on all Palestinian scholars, students, and activists who bring to light the violent and genocidal nature of the Israeli state, which was on full view of the world during South Africa's presentation at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). That presentation was sufficiently persuasive that the ICJ almost unanimously found in its provisional ruling on January 26, 2024 that Israel's attack on Gaza is plausibly genocide. We thus recognize this as an attempt to silence critique of Israeli state violence in a context of a society infused with open genocidal incitement and discourse. In fact, the Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir welcomed the arrest and said that it "conveys an important message - whoever incites against the State of Israel, we will take action against them. They will not be able to hide behind their position or any other title." This silencing and repression endangers not only Professor Shalhoub-Kevorkian, but also the lives and education of students who study, write, and are part of her intellectual community in the Hebrew University and beyond.

We, as international academics, hold the Hebrew University of Jerusalem responsible for the arrest and detention of Professor Shalhoub-Kevorkian because of its persistent and public repression of her academic freedom, which led directly to today's arrest. We call on international scholars, activists, and people of conscience to demand her immediate release. We are outraged by this unlawful action, and we refuse the continuing violence the Israeli state and its institutions wage against the Palestinian people and those who stand for justice and freedom.

Take action today for Professor Shalhoub-Kevorkian's immediate release by:

- Writing to Asher Cohen, President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (asher.cohen@mail.huji.ac.il); Tamir Sheafer, Rector (tamir.sheafer@mail.huji.ac.il); and Asher Ben-Arieh, Dean of the School of Social Work (benarieh@mail.huji.ac.il).

- Contacting your US representatives and demanding that they (1) call for Professor Shalhoub-Kevorkian's immediate release, and (2) protect the academic freedom of Palestinian scholars, students, and those speaking out against genocide.

- Creating a social media storm by circulating our statement and calling for the immediate release of Professor Shalhoub-Kevorkian; use the hashtag #FreeNadera and tag @HebrewU.

Dr. Lila Abu-Lughod, Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social Science, Columbia University

Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies, Department of History, Columbia University

Judith Butler, Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School, UC Berkeley

Sherene Seikaly, Associate Professor of History, UCSB

Dr. Raz Segal, Associate Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies and Endowed Professor in the Study of Modern Genocide, Stockton University

Dr. Sarah Ihmoud, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, The College of the Holy Cross

Dr. Sherene H. Razack, Distinguished Professor of Gender Studies, UCLA

Dr. Devin Atallah, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Boston

Dr. Shahnaaz Suffla, Professor in the Institute for Social and Health Sciences, University of South Africa

Dr. Saree Makdisi, Professor of English, UCLA

Dr. Robin Kelley, Distinguished Professor of History, UCLA

Dr. Miriam Cooke, Braxton Craven Distinguished Professor Emerita of Arab Cultures, Duke University

Pregs Govender, African Gender OInstitute, UCT, Former South African MP and SA Human Rights Commissioner

Dr. Deborah Dwork, Director of the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity, Graduate Center-City University of New York

Mimi Kirk, Adjunct Faculty, Georgetown University

Dr. Keren Weitzberg, senior lecturer, School of Politics and International Relations, fellow, Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Queen Mary University of London

Dr. Clive Gabay, Reader in International Politics, School of Politics and International Relations, Queen Mary University of London

Dr. Vasuki Nesiah, Professor of Practice in Human Rights and International Law, NYU

Dr. Leila Farsakh, Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Boston

Dr. Bram Wispelwey, Instructor, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Chan School of Public Health

Dr. David Theo Goldberg, Distinguished Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine

Miriam Ticktin, Professor of Anthropology, CUNY Graduate Center

Dr. Hoda Elsadda, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Cairo University

Dr. Fatima Sadiqi, Visiting Professor, Hamad Bin Khalifa University

Dr. Victoria Sanford, Lehman Professor of Excellence, Lehman College & the CUNY Graduate Center

Dr. Stephen Sheehi, Sultan Qaboos Professor of Middle East Studies, William & Mary.

Dr. Lara Sheehi, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Doha Institute of Graduate Studies

Dr. Rachel Rosen, University College London

Dr. Rosalind Edwards, University of Southampton UK

Dr. Lara Deeb, Professor of Anthropology, Scripps College

Dr. Gala Rexer, University College London

Dr. Heidi Morrison, Associate Professor of History, University of Wisconsin- La Crosse

Dr. Jeffrey Sacks, Associate Professor and Chair, Literature, UC Riverside

Professor Rana A. Sharif, CSU Northridge

Professor Vasuki Nesiah, Human Rights and International Law, NYU

Professor Zakia Salime, Rutgers University

Dr. Rishita Nandagiri, King's College London

Dr. Marion Kaplan, Professor Emerita of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, NYU

Dr. Leti Volpp, University of California, Berkeley School of Law

Dr. Amahl Bishara, Associate Prof. of Anthropology, Tufts University

Dr. Taner Akçam, Director of the Armenian Genocide Research Program of PAI, UCLA

Dr. Sultan Doughan, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Goldsmiths University London

Dr. Nivi Manchanda, Associate Professor of International Politics, Queen Mary, University of London

Dr. Nadim Rouhana, Professor of International Negotiation and Conflict Studies, Tufts University

Dr. Atalia Omer, Professor of Religion, Conflict, and Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame

Dr. Minoo Moallem. Professor of Gender Studies, UC Berkeley

Dr. Shannon Speed, Professor of American Indian Studies and Gender Studies, UCLA

Dr. Noura Erakat, Associate Professor of Africana Studies, Rutgers University

Dr. Daniel Segal, Jean M. Pitzer Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and Emeritus Professor of History, Pitzer College

Dr. Darryl Li, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Associate Member of the Law School, University of Chicago

Dr. Ussama Makdisi, Professor of History and Chancellor's Chair, University of California Berkeley

David Lloyd, Distinguished Professor of English, UC Riverside, USA

Daniel Segal, Jean M. Pitzer Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and Emeritus Professor of History, Pitzer College of the Claremont Colleges

And Heather Ferguson, Associate Professor of History, Claremont McKenna College

Nelson Maldonado-Torres, Professor of Philosophy, University of Connecticut and Frantz Fanon Foundation

Mohamed Seedat, Emeritus Professor, Institute for Social and Health Sciences, University of South Africa

Professor Salim Vally, Research Chair in Community, Adult and Workers Education, University of Johannesburg

Dr. Sondra Hale, UCLA

Dr. Suad Joseph, Distinguished Research Professor, University of California-Davis

Dr. Sherene Hafez, Department of Gender and Sexuality Studies, University of California, Riverside

Dr. Louise Cainkar, Professor, Marquette University

Dr. Bassam Haddad, Associate Professor of Political Science, George Mason University

Dr. Silvia Pasquetti, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Newcastle University

Professor Tariq Jazeel, Department of Geography, University College London

Dr. Tom Western, Lecturer in Social and Cultural Geography, University College London

Ms. Penelope Quinton former UNAIS Capacity Builder Right to Education Campaign, An Najah University, Nablus 2008/09

Dr. James Kneale, Associate Professor, Geography, University College London

Dr. Victoria Araj, Lecturer in Equality, University of Lincoln, UK

Dr. Mayssoun Sukarieh: King's College London

Dr. Carlo Morelli, Dundee University & Honorary Secretary Scotland UCU

Professor Laleh Khalili, University of Exeter

Liam O'Dowd, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Queen's University Belfast

Erica Burman, Professor of Education, University of Manchester

Ian Parker, Emeritus Professor of Management, University of Leicester, UK

Dr. Artemis Christinaki, Honorary Research Fellow, The University of Manchester

Dr. Kirsteen Paton, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of Glasgow

Maria Hantzopoulos, Professor of Education, Vassar College

Sadhvi Dar, Reader in Interdisciplinary Management and Organisation Studies, School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London, UK

Professor Roberto Veneziani, Queen Mary University of London

Nancy Stern, Professor, The City College of New York, CUNY

Nacira Guenif, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, University Paris 8, LEGS (CNRS)

Professor Hannah Jones, Department of Sociology, University of Warwick

Dr. Hanan Toukan, Associate Professor of Politics and Middle Eastern Studies, Bard College Berlin

Anat Pick, Dept of Film, Queen Mary Univeristy of London.

Professor Rowland Atkinson, University of Sheffield

Dr. Jess Bier, Associate professor of urban sociology, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Philomena Harrison, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, Liverpool Hope University, UK

Dr. Thea Renda Abu El-Haj, Professor of Education, Barnard College, Columbia University

Dr. Nicola Perugini, University of Edinburgh

Sameena Ahmad, retired senior lecturer, Manchester University

Dr. Tanzil Chowdhury, Associate Professor of Public Law, Queen Mary, University of London

Dr. Anna-Esther Younes

Dr. Lisa Tilley, SOAS

Dr. Polly Pallister-Wilkins, Associate Professor, University of Amsterdam

Neve Gordon, Professor of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, School of Law, Queen Mary University of London

Catherine Rottenberg, Professor of Feminist Media Studies, Goldsmiths College, University of London

Prof. Penny Green, QMUL

Prof. Paul Highgate, University of Bath

Dr. Zeina Zaatari, Director of Arab American Cultural Center, University of Illinois at Chicago

Dr. Hind Ahmed Zaki, University of Connecticut

Dr. Houri Berberian, Professor of History, University of California, Irvine

Dr. Fida Adely, Arab Studies in the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

Dr. Maya Wind, University of British Columbia

Dr. Susan Morrissey, Professor of History, University of California, Irvine

Dr. Kevan Antonio Aguilar, Assistant Professor of History and Vice Chair of the Irvine Faculty Association, University of California, Irvine

Dr. Michael Harris, Professor of Mathematics, Columbia University

Dr. Barry Trachtenberg, Michael H. and Deborah K. Rubin Presidential Chair of Jewish History, Wake Forest University

Dr. Omer Bartov, Samuel Pisar Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Department of History; Faculty Fellow, Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs, Brown University

Dr. Haynes Miller, Professor of Mathematics emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Dr. Sunaina Maira, Professor, Asian American Studies, UC Davis

Dr. Nadje Al-Ali, Professor of Anthropology and Middle East Studies, Brown University

Dr. David Palumbo-Liu, Louise Hewlett Nixon Professor and Professor of Comparative Literature and, by courtesy, of English, Stanford University

Dr. Fatma Muge Gocek, Professor of Sociology, University of Michigan

Dr. Adam Miyashiro, Professor of Literature, Stockton University

Dr. Egla Martinez, Associate Professor, Human Rights and Social Justice, IIS, Carleton University, Canada

Dr. Yazid Ben Hounet, CNRS, Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Sociale, Paris

Dr. Liron Mor, Associate Professor & Director of Graduate Studies, Comparative Literature, University of California, Irvine

Dr. Soha Bayoumi, Senior Lecturer in the Medicine, Science, and the Humanities, Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Meryem Kamil, Assistant Professor of Film & Media Studies at UC Irvine

Cecelia Lynch, Professor, Political Science, University of California, Irvine

Elyse Semerdjian, Robert Aram and Marianne Kaloosdian and Stephen and Marian Mugar Chair of Armenian Genocide Studies, Clark University

Rebecca Comay, Professor of Philosophy, University of Toronto, Canada

Professor Ruba Salih, Department of the Arts, University of Bologna

Professor Lynn Welchman, School of Law, SOAS, University of London

Professor Haim Bresheeth-Žabner, Professorial Research Associate, SOAS, University of London

Professor Sherine F. Hamdy, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine

Dr. Sharareh Frouzesh, Lecturer, UC Irvine

Simon Pirani, Honorary Professor, University of Durham

Michael Sells, Emeritus Professor, Divinity School and Comparative Literature, University of Chicago

Dr. Jeanette Jouili, Associate Professor of Religion, Syracuse University

Una McGahern, Senior Lecturer, Politics at Newcastle University

Dr Lewis Turner, Lecturer in International Politics, Newcastle University

Michael Reinsborough, Lecturer, SOAS

Dr Angela Sherwood, Lecturer in Law, Queen Mary University of London

Prof. Ratna Kapur, Queen Mary University of London

Professor Nadia Valman, Queen Mary University of London

Dr. Mandy Turner, Senior Researcher Security in Context, Visiting Senior Research Fellow ISCI-Queen Mary University of London

Dr. Chris Moffat, Senior Lecturer in History, Queen Mary University of London

Dr. Craig Jones, Senior Lecturer in Political Geography and UKRI Future Leaders Fellow, Newcastle University

Professor Goldie Osuri, University of Warwick, UK

Dr. Richard Wild, Principal Lecturer in Criminology, University of Greenwich

Makram Khoury-Machool, Founding Director of the Cambridge Centre for Palestine Studies, Cambridge

Salah Al-Bander, Programme Director of the European Centre for the Study of Extremism, Cambridge

Dr Omer Aijazi, Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute, University of Manchester

Neil DeVotta, Professor, Department of Politics and International Affairs, Wake Forest University

Professor Kapil Raj, Research Professor, EHESS, Paris

David Motzafi Haller, Geneva Graduate Institute (IHEID)

Michael Sells, (Emeritus) Barrows Professor of the History and Literature of Islam and Professor of Comparative Literature, University of Chicago

Shahana Rasool, Professor, Department of Social and Community Development, University of Johannesburg

Radhika Balakrishnan, Professor, Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Rutgers University

Umesh Bawa, Director of international Relations, University of the Western Cape

Zena Agha, Department of Geography, Newcastle University

Dr. Alexander Clark, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford