Yesterday, 939 academic researchers and staff issued a protest statement, which was published in the Danish daily Information. Here are some translated excerpts:
“We, researchers and academic staff in the Nordic countries, write this statement of solidarity in response to the open letter from Birzeit University in Palestine, addressed to international academic institutions, dated Oct. 15th.
“We declare our solidarity with the group of professors and staff at Birzeit University who call upon our academic duty to seek the truth, distance ourselves from state-sponsored propaganda, and hold the perpetrators of the ongoing genocide accountable, including those who support them.
“With this statement, we join academics around the world in showing their solidarity with the Palestinian people. We cannot stand by silently as the Israeli state kills thousands of Palestinian civilians in front of our eyes.
“We deeply mourn all Palestinian and Israeli civilians who have been killed since Oct. 7th, and we are appalled by the violent escalations of recent weeks that have had fatal consequences on the lives of so many civilians. In line with the UN Secretary General, we recognize that the violence is rooted in the Israeli state’s continuous expansion of the illegal occupation of Palestinian land….
“We are now witnessing these violations escalating into what UN representatives warn is the beginning of genocide, and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza. Meanwhile, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are experiencing an intensification of violence and raids by Israeli military forces and attacks by illegal settlers.
“We further recognize that Israel’s long standing illegal occupation and crimes against humanity have been facilitated through the support of the Western international community and its leaders, institutions and financial actors; currently we see how Western powers are blocking attempts for a ceasefire.
“We call on our governments and the international community to support an immediate ceasefire and free passage of aid into Gaza, to recognize Palestine as a sovereign nation-state, to support the decolonization of Palestinian territories occupied by Israel, and to end Israel’s apartheid system.
“As academics and researchers, we are aware of the power of science to legitimize as well as delegitimize violence. We believe it is our responsibility to build sound historical and scientific knowledge that can contribute to a more just world, and to use our resources and platforms to act and speak out against the brutality of imperialism, colonialism and genocide.”
