On October 7, 2023, Hamas carried out a terrorist attack in Israel, killing more than 1,200 people out of a population of 9.5 million, including more than 800 civilians and at least 33 children, and injuring 5,400 others. . The attack also led to the capture of 248 hostages, around a hundred of whom are still detained in Gaza.
Since then, the Israeli government has launched a response of genocidal violence against the Palestinian population of Gaza, before the eyes of the international community. At the end of October 2024, the number of identified victims stood at 43,061, including more than 13,735 children, 7,216 women and 3,447 elderly people, with more than 100,000 injured, out of a population of 2.3 million. . Thousands of additional victims remain buried under the rubble, without being able to be counted.
The Israeli army now inflicts on Palestinian civilians at least the equivalent of October 7 every ten days, and has been doing so for more than a year.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called the situation in Gaza a “crisis of humanity.” In addition to the heavy toll taken on civilians, this war led to the massive destruction of Palestinian civilian infrastructure and forced 90 percent of Gaza’s population into repeated displacement. Most hospitals were bombed and destroyed, and many medical teams were killed. Constant attacks and blockades against food, water, fuel, medicine and humanitarian aid cause unbearable suffering for the people of Gaza, who face famine and infectious diseases. Children, as well as other vulnerable groups, are particularly affected.
In late October 2024, the Palestinian Ministry of Education, based in Ramallah, reported that Israel had killed more than 11,057 schoolchildren and 681 students in Gaza since October 7, 2023, and injured more than 16,897 schoolchildren and 1,468 students. . A total of 441 teachers and educational staff were killed and 2,491 injured. At least 117 academics have been killed in Gaza, including Sufian Tayeh, a mathematician, theoretical physicist and president of the Islamic University of Gaza, killed with his family by an Israeli bombardment in the Jabaliya refugee camp on December 2, 2023.
Additionally, 406 schools in Gaza were damaged, including 77 completely destroyed. Universities in Gaza were severely affected, with 20 institutions damaged, 51 buildings completely demolished and 57 partially destroyed. As a result, nearly 88,000 students and 700,000 schoolchildren in Gaza have been deprived of education for over a year.
On January 26, 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that there was a risk of genocide and ordered Israel to take measures to prevent it. On March 28, the ICJ reiterated this order, requiring the implementation of these preventive measures. Then, on May 24, the ICJ ordered Israel to immediately end its military offensive in Rafah and open the Rafah crossing to allow unimpeded access for humanitarian services and aid to civilians.
These orders appear to have been completely ignored and attacks against civilians in Gaza have intensified, particularly in the north, with the clear aim of depopulating this region of Palestinians. On September 30, 2024, after days of aerial bombardment, the Israeli army also invaded Lebanon, killing at least 1,600 people and displacing 1.2 million.
Human rights violations by the Israeli government extend beyond the Gaza Strip and do not begin in retaliation for the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023. In the West Bank, since October 7, 2023, 79 schoolchildren and 35 students were killed, and hundreds more were injured or arrested. Systematic and widespread human rights violations, such as land confiscation, resource plunder and racial discrimination, have been well documented during the 57 years of occupation of the Palestinian territories and the 17 years of blockade of Gaza.
On July 19, 2024, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion on “the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), including East Jerusalem and Gaza”, unequivocally declaring Israeli occupation illegal and calling for its immediate cessation. . The ICJ emphasized that the responsibility for not supporting this illegal practice lies not only with third states but also with all institutions that enforce international law, including universities.
The scientific community has often mobilized in the past to defend human rights and international law. In an open letter published in the New York Times in December 1948, co-signed by Hannah Arendt and Albert Einstein, the authors denounced the visit of Menachem Begin, leader of the Tnuat Haherut party, precursor of Likud (the party of the current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu), in these terms: “Among the most worrying political phenomena of our time is the emergence in the new State of Israel of the “Freedom Party” (Tnuat Haherut), a political party very close in its organization, its methods, its political philosophy and its social appeal to the Nazi and fascist parties. It was formed from members and supporters of the former Irgun Zvai Leumi, a terrorist, chauvinistic, right-wing organization in Palestine…. It is in its actions that the terrorist party betrays its true character; From his past actions we can judge what we can expect from him in the future. A shocking example is their behavior in the Arab village of Deir Yassin. This village, far from the main roads and surrounded by Jewish lands, had taken no part in the war and had even repelled Arab bands who wanted to use the village as a base. On April 9, terrorist gangs attacked this peaceful village, which was not a military objective in the fighting, killed most of its inhabitants – 240 men, women and children – and kept a few alive for paraded in captivity through the streets of Jerusalem. Most of the Jewish community was horrified by this act and the Jewish Agency sent a telegram of apology to King Abdullah of Transjordan. But the terrorists, far from being ashamed of their act, were proud of this massacre, widely publicized it and invited all foreign correspondents present in the country to observe the piled-up corpses and the general chaos in Deir Yassin.
For over a year now, the Israeli government and its military forces have been committing the equivalent of a Deir Yassin massacre in Gaza every day, while the scientific community remains largely silent. Yet, as the open letter above demonstrates, this community has already strongly opposed attacks on civilians, whether during the Algerian and Vietnam wars or, more recently, in response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Scientists, particularly mathematicians, cannot remain indifferent to the ongoing genocide in Gaza, especially since Western powers appear to politically, diplomatically and militarily support this crime against humanity.
Enough is enough. We urge our colleagues to cease all scientific collaboration with Israeli institutions that do not explicitly condemn the genocide of Gaza and the illegal colonization of Palestine. We also encourage them to put pressure on our own institutions to terminate agreements with these partners on the same terms, in accordance with international law. This position obviously does not include individual collaborations with Israeli colleagues, 3,400 of whom have courageously signed an appeal to the international community, which we wish to support, “to intervene immediately by applying all possible sanctions against Israel to achieve a ceasefire.” -immediate fire between Israel and Israel.” its neighbors, for the future of people living in Israel/Palestine and the region, and to guarantee their right to security and life. Finally, we demand that our institutions scrupulously respect academic freedoms and resolutely defend freedom of expression in accordance with the law.
Signatories (petition closed on December 4, 2024 with 1078 signatories):
Ahmed Abbes, research director at CNRS, France
Samy Abbes, Lecturer, Paris Cité University, France
Maha Abboud, Professor, CY Cergy Paris University, France
Nahla Abdellatif, Professor, National Engineering School of Tunis, Tunis El Manar University, Tunisia
Amine Abdellaziz, Doctor from Grenoble Alpes University, France
Chaima Abid, PhD in applied mathematics/LAMSIN, Tunisia
Hammadi Abidi, Professor University of Tunis El Manar, Tunisia
Mohammed Ably, Lecturer, University of Lille, France
Abdelhak Abouqateb, professor, Cadi Ayyad University, Morocco
Tiago Miguel Abreu, doctoral student at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil
Khader Faiez Abu-Helaiel, professor at the University of Jaén, Spain
Vincent Acary, Research Director at INRIA, France
Céline Acary-Robert, Research engineer, UGA, France
Fessel Achhoud, doctoral student, Hassan Premier University, Morocco
Boris Adamczewski, research director at CNRS, France
Louigi Addario-Berry, professor, Canada Research Chair, McGill University, Canada
Karim Adiprasito, Research Director at CNRS, IMJ-PRG, France
Dan Agüero Cerna, Postdoc, SISSA, Italy
Marie-Thérèse Aimar, Lecturer Emeritus Aix-Marseille University, France
Sabah Al Fakir, Former professor at the scientific university of Lille, France
Safaa Al-Ali, Postdoctoral Researcher, INRIA Center of the University of Côte d’Azur, France
Darío Alatorre, Outreach Technician, Institute of Mathematics, UNAM, Mexico
Baklouti Ali, Professor, Faculty of Sciences of Sfax, Tunisia
Roberto Alicandro, professor, Federico II University of Naples, Italy
Mohamed Aliouane, doctoral student, SISSA, Italy
Nasrin Altafi, postdoctoral researcher at Queen’s University, Canada
Tuna Altınel, Lecturer, University Lyon 1, France
María de la Paz Alvarez-Scherer, retired, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
Saber Amdouni, Associate Professor, National Engineering School of Tunis, Tunis El Manar University, Tunisia
Silviana Amethyst, research engineer, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Germany
Omid Amini, CNRS – École Polytechnique, France
Claire Amiot, Professor, Grenoble Alpes University, France
Farid Ammar Khodja, Lecturer, University of Franche-Comté, France
Cherif Amrouche, Professor Emeritus University of Pau and Pays de l’Adour, France
Abdelhamid Amroun, MCF Paris-Saclay University, France
United Kingdom Anandavardhanan, Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India
Yves André, CNRS Research Director, France
Angel Angel, Professor Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
Daniele Angella, professor, Dipartimento di Matematica e Informatica “Ulisse Dini”, Università di Firenze, Italy
Pablo Angulo, PCD Professor in excess – Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
Jean-Philippe Anker, Professor Emeritus, University of Orléans, France
Colette Anné, retired mathematician (CNRS), France
A full list of all signatories can be found here.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Tel Aviv Tribune.