The conflict in Gaza over the past two weeks saw the tragic deaths of 12 Israelis and well over 200 Palestinians. The imbalance of deaths on both sides was not lost on the international community, yet actual Palestinian voices in the media were few and far between.
For example, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation to defend Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. Palestinian people appeared on the front pages of newspapers across the world – usually surrounded by rubble or badly injured – but as is so often the case, they did not have a platform to speak.
In 1984, Columbia University’s Prof Edward Said said that Palestinians did not have the “permission to narrate”. Trinity has an opportunity to grant them this permission.
College already has a memorandum of agreement with the Al Quds University in Palestine. Securing more of these agreements with Palestinian universities or increasing the numbers of Palestinian speakers coming into College or incorporating more Palestinian voices and research into curriculums: these are all tangible, positive and constructive ways to help understand a conflict that is dizzyingly complex.
Strengthening links to Palestinian universities does not damage College’s existing links to Israeli universities or silence Israeli voices. But it does bring more balance to conversations around the Israel-Palestine conflict. Israeli government officials can complain about attempted academic boycotts, as was the case this week, but as it stands, Palestinian academics are primarily the ones being sidelined.
Israeli universities have more to offer on paper than Palestinian ones – they are wealthier and enjoy a higher standing internationally. However, from an educational – and social justice – standpoint, the benefits of listening to marginalised voices in Palestine and working with them are vast.
College cannot fix the conflict in Gaza. But at the moment, Palestinians are seen as victims of a never-ending conflict, rather than the intelligent, cultured and complex people that they are. Trinity can help to change that.
