Mastodawn

"I am strongly against [the] requirement that universities adopt the #IHRA definition of antisemitism [...] it chills free speech on a matter of the first importance"

Arif Ahmed of #CambridgeUniversity & #OfficeForStudents is held to account by #BRICUP

#FreeSpeech
https://www.bricup.org.uk/activities/bricup-challenges-universities-director-for-freedom-of-speech-to-explain-censoring-of-speech-on-palestine/

BRICUP challenges universities’ Director for Freedom of Speech to explain censoring of speech on Palestine – BRICUP

oatmeal Apr 9, 2025

Digging for power / Israeli archaeology conference canceled after government attempts to silence critic

Israel's major archaeology conference was canceled after Heritage Minister Eliyahu demanded the removal of Prof. Raphael Greenberg, who has spoken out against Israel's archaeological practices in occupied territories.

Prof. Greenberg, chair of NGO Emek Shaveh, argues that Israel weaponizes archaeology to dispossess Palestinians and violates international conventions on cultural heritage protection. He also believes that Israel Exploits excavations to justify settler expansion in the West Bank, while excluding Palestinian voices from archaeological discourse about their own heritage, and uses selective archaeology to create political narratives about land ownership.

The academic community united in support of Greenberg's right to speak, even among those who disagree with his views, forcing the conference's cancellation rather than comply with political censorship.

[…] the plans were suspended when Raphael Greenberg [pictured], Professor of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University and chairman of Emek Shaveh, the Israeli NGO which seeks to prevent the politicisation of archaeology in the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict, raised fundamental objections to the conference in an open letter to intending participants. Rather than allow Professor Greenberg to attend and air these objections, the Ministry hastily cancelled the conference.

https://www.bricup.org.uk/news-2/israel-cancels-major-conference-to-forestall-discussion-of-its-political-abuse-of-archaeology/ [#BRICUP British Committee for the Universities of Palestine]

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/2025-04-03/ty-article/israeli-archaeology-confab-canceled-after-far-right-minister-demands-removal-of-speaker/00000195-fb6c-dbc7-a5ff-fbee33b60000 or https://archive.is/sxI5o

BRICUP challenges universities’ Director for Freedom of Speech to explain censoring of speech on Palestine – BRICUP

Israel cancels major conference to forestall discussion of its political misuse of archaeology – BRICUP