Statement of Support for Faculty and Students Harassed for Speaking out about the Siege in Gaza and the profound loss of life in Palestine/Israel

UCLA Department of Gender Studies expresses unequivocal support for students, staff, and faculty who speak out about the devastating siege and profound loss within Palestine/Israel. We have a responsibility to address these events within the university community and the broader public free from harassment, violence, threats, and retaliation. Similarly, our students have the right to learn without fear and intimidation.

 

It is the central task of scholars to situate the contemporary moment within its broader historical and political contexts, including those of racial/gender violence, (settler) colonialism, US imperialism, and struggles for indigenous sovereignty. For many scholars who research structural power and social movements, solidarity with anti-colonial and indigenous struggles, including solidarity with Palestine, is informed by long-standing scholarly research, analysis, and active debate regarding these broader contexts.*

 

We strongly reject efforts to repress scholarship on racial violence and war, whether those efforts are legislation expunging the history of U.S. slavery from public school curricula, media erasure of the expulsion of Armenians in Artsakh, or punitive actions against those who denounce apartheid and genocide in Palestine. As scholars and advocates of academic freedom, we have a responsibility to share scholarly knowledge and to challenge ahistorical and decontextualized approaches dominating public debate. We should not – and will not – be silenced.