Columbia & Palestine: a Campus Forum
TEACH-IN ON WEDNESDAY:
COLUMBIA & PALESTINE: A Campus Forum
Why Academic Freedom? Why Divestment?
Wednesday, March 4th
7pm, Hamilton Hall 516
Speakers and moderators will include:
- Mahmood Mamdani, Herbert Lehman Professor of Government and Professor of Anthropology
- Bruce Robbins, Old Dominion Foundation Professor in the Humanities
- Gil Anidjar, Associate Professor, MEALAC
- Brinkley Messick, Professor of Anthropology
- Columbia student Olivia Roseane, and community members and Columbia alums Lubna Hammad and Ethan Heitner, active in the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign.
Come to a forum discussing Columbia University’s relationship to Palestinian rights. Does the university have a responsibility to defend academic freedom in Gaza and the West Bank in the face of Israeli attacks on Palestinian schools and travel restrictions on Palestinian scholars? Does the university have a responsibility to divest from companies who profit from the the continued occupation of Palestinian lands, the maintenance of illegal Israeli settlements and the walls being built around Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem?
Recently, a growing group of faculty, supported by students and community members have requested that University President Lee Bollinger issue a statement supporting academic freedom for Palestinian schools and scholars, especially given the numerous facilities, from elementary schools to colleges, destroyed by the recent bombing of Gaza: see Academic Freedom Columbia. Columbia faculty will be speaking about why they have issued this call.
Additionally, students and community members from the New York City Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) campaign will speak about the important role that the university and students can play in making sure that Columbia funds – including our tuition – do not go toward the maintenance of the Israeli occupation and human rights abuses in Gaza and the West Bank. If you’re interested in finding out more about the campaign, please attend!
Click here to RSVP at our facebook event page.
