Nearly 2,000 scholars in North America have signed a condemnation letter addressing Israel’s savage campaign in Gaza and the regime’s destruction of the besieged Palestinian territory’s education system.
In the letter, the academics condemned Israel’s physical and cultural liquidation of Palestinian civilians.
They are deeply concerned about Israel’s continued targeting of academics, educational institutions, and cultural heritage sites.
“We, the undersigned, write to condemn Israel’s systematic targeting of academics, students, educational institutions and cultural heritage sites in Gaza, in violation of international human rights, humanitarian and criminal law,” the letter says.
“These attacks are deeply personal. Some of us have taught Palestinian students or collaborated with faculty from academic institutions in Gaza who have been killed or injured, or who have seen their institutions destroyed.”
“We mourn what these losses mean for world knowledge and culture, and for the future of the Palestinian people, and we stand in solidarity with our Palestinian colleagues and students and all others who deplore this scholasticide.”
In March and in a similar move, nearly 100 leading European academics condemned “Israel’s systematic annihilation” of the educational system in Gaza.
Over 180 British academics also recently signed a separate petition denouncing the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, most notably the targeting of academics and students.
According to official reports, 70 percent of the universities in Gaza have been destroyed.
The Palestinian Ministry of Education has said virtually 5,000 students have been killed and thousands injured since early October.
