06.11.25
Editorial Note
The SOAS University of London, also known as the School of Oriental and African Studies, is involved in two recent scandals. The first involves the SOAS Senate position on the so-called “Scholasticide in Gaza, Palestine.”
The Senate’s statement begins with mentioning an earlier statement from December 2023, expressing its horror over “the near total destruction of the higher educational sector in the Gaza Strip” and “calling for an immediate ceasefire to prevent any further loss of civilian life.” The Senate noted that the UN Special Rapporteurs expressed “grave concern over scholasticide in Gaza, defined as the systemic obliteration of education through the arrest, detention or killing of teachers, students and staff, and the destruction of educational infrastructure” in April 2024.
SOAS quotes several reports, such as the UN Independence Commission of Inquiry, Amnesty International, B’Tselem, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, to conclude that a vast majority of schools in Gaza were damaged or destroyed, and numerous teachers and students were killed.
SOAS also cited the presidents of three universities in Gaza who, in July 2025, called on the international academic community to show solidarity with Gaza and recognize Israel’s “scholasticide as a systematic war on education.”
SOAS emphasized a call from May 2025 by the Israeli Black Flag Action Group, signed by over 1400 academic staff of Israeli higher education institutions who “recognized academics’ own role in crimes against humanity and insisted on making Palestinian suffering central to its objections to the war.”
To make sure that SOAS was on the right side of history, it noted that in “some countries (including Norway, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, Netherlands, Italy and Brazil), some universities and scholarly bodies (including the European Association of Social Anthropologists, the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies, and the Middle East Studies Association) have called for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions.”
Trying to avert criticism for Israel bashing, SOAS emphasized that as a higher education institution, it is “committed to social justice and opposed to all forms of racism and discrimination, such as Anti-semitism and Islamophobia, as stated in our Charter on Racism, Antisemitism and All Forms of Cultural, Ethnic and Religious Chauvinism. The university has held events and released statements that challenge both Islamophobia and Anti-semitism and has expressed shock and extreme sadness at the terrorist attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Greater Manchester on 2 October 2025.”
Yet, SOAS noted that “genocide has been denied by the Israeli government,” and that “The (UK) Government has not concluded that Israel is acting with that intent.”
Still, the Senate resolved: “To protect those academics who teach about genocide, and who name scholasticide in Gaza, in line with scholarly and legal evidence; To call for substantial international support for maintaining the ceasefire; To call on the UK government to impose a full arms embargo on Israel as a form of meaningful material pressure to promote an enduring ceasefire; To commit to developing initiatives and partnerships to support the continuation and rebuilding of the higher education sector in Gaza; To express solidarity with academics and universities in Palestine, who have all been affected by scholasticide; To call upon Israeli academic institutions to support the international rule of law, to speak up against scholasticide in Gaza, and to allow free speech for voices opposing genocide in Gaza; To commit to refraining from partnerships with academic institutions that are instrumental to the commission, or support, or enablement of scholasticide.”
While the main goal was to push the absurdist charge of “scholasticide, SOAS was all too happy to point out that Israel had also committed “genocide,” quoting the infamous and discredited opinon of the International Association of Genocide Scholars. For good measure SOAS noted “legitimate” concerns that “Israeli universities may be contributing to the violation of Palestinian rights by cooperating with the Israeli military industrial complex, and thereby supporting apartheid.”
SOAS did not mention Hamas’s brutal rule in Gaza, effectively turning universities and schools into launchpads for missiles and shielding armed fighters.
The second case involves the alleged breaking of the rule of free speech as reported by The Times. The issue surfaced when, next June, SOAS will host the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) conference, and it was decided that Israeli academics must declare that their institutions are built on land taken from Palestinians.
These demands appeared in the new policy titled “BRISMES Mandatory Policy on Territorial or Land Acknowledgement,” dated September 22, 2025. It describes a policy that sets out the mandatory requirements for land and territorial acknowledgement for all individuals submitting papers, if their institution is “located on land appropriated from Indigenous peoples by settler colonial regimes, including (but not limited to) the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel (1948 Palestine); or Based at institutions established on land appropriated by a foreign occupying power, in contravention of international law, such as in Occupied Palestinian Territory; Any individual whose research was conducted on such appropriated or occupied land.”
According to BRISMES, authors are required to acknowledge “the traditional owners of the land on which the institution to which they are affiliated is located, and/or, in the case of military occupation, acknowledge the status of the land under international law.”
BRISMES explained why such a policy matters: “Acknowledging the land is not a symbolic act but a critical ethical and political gesture. It recognizes: The historical and ongoing dispossession of Indigenous and colonized peoples; The role of institutions in upholding or challenging colonial structures; The imperative to conduct scholarship that is accountable, contextualized, and conscious of power dynamics in knowledge production. This policy affirms BRISMES’s commitment to decolonial scholarship, human rights, and international legal norms.”
The “BRISMES Mandatory Policy on Ethical Publishing and Participation Standards” states that “In line with BRISMES’s commitment to human rights, anti-racism, and decolonial scholarship, submissions and participation in BRISMES activities are subject to the following ethical standards. A paper/proposal will be excluded if it: Glorifies or justifies gross human rights violations, including war crimes, crimes against humanity (including apartheid), or genocide in any context. Incites racial discrimination, hostility, or violence… Engages in advocacy of national, racial, or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination.”
The anti-Israel requirement created a public relations problem for SOAS. A letter from the Committee for Academic Freedom, the London Universities’ Council for Academic Freedom, Alumni for Free Speech, and Academics for Academic Freedom, addressed to Bridget Phillipson, the Secretary of State for Education, and Baroness Smith of Malvern, the Minister of State for Skills and Minister for Women and Equalities, claims that the policy contravenes free speech regulations.
If land acknowledgement is important to BRISMES, it should note that Jews originate from Judea, as mentioned in the Bible and in the Quran, they are referred to as the Sons of Israel.
SOAS has a long anti-Israel and anti-Jewish policy. It was founded to study Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Its teaching and research are dominated by Edward Said’s Orientalism and neo-Marxist, critical theories that cast Israel as a colonial oppressor. Over time, the dominance of these perspectives has created what critics describe as an ideological echo chamber — a self-reinforcing environment in which dissenting or pro-Israel voices are marginalized. This has led to accusations of academic bias and intimidation of students or lecturers who challenge the prevailing narrative. SOAS has an unusually high level of political activism, particularly around Middle East issues, with the Students’ Union repeatedly endorsing BDS. SOAS has historically received funding from the Middle East and developed research partnerships that align it closely with Arab and Palestinian institutions. This is evidenced by initiatives such as the SOAS Middle East Institute (SMEI) and the Centre for Palestine Studies (CPS), as well as collaborations with regional scholars and institutions
SOAS needs to be reminded that the Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917, was incorporated into the League of Nations’ Palestine Mandate, which was adopted on July 22, 1922. This mandate entrusted Great Britain with administering Palestine and included the Balfour Declaration’s provision for establishing a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.
IAM will further report on the developments of these issues.
REFERENCES:
SOAS University of London (School of Oriental and African Studies)30 October 2025
Senate statement on Gaza, Palestine
The Senate at SOAS is responsible for advising the Board of Trustees on the strategic development and future direction of the university’s academic activities.
It is part of the academic governance structure at SOAS that seeks to bring together the academic voice at SOAS to address matters affecting the academic scope, academic structure and academic standards of the university.
Today, the Senate has published a Senate Statement on Scholasticide in Gaza, Palestine (PDF, 148KB) and committed to the following actions:
- To protect those academics who teach about genocide, and who name scholasticide in Gaza, in line with scholarly and legal evidence.
- To call for substantial international support for maintaining the ceasefire.
- To call on the UK government to impose a full arms embargo on Israel as a form of meaningful material pressure to promote an enduring ceasefire.
- To commit to developing initiatives and partnerships to support the continuation and rebuilding of the higher education sector in Gaza.
- To express solidarity with academics and universities in Palestine, who have all been affected by scholasticide.
- To call upon Israeli academic institutions to support the international rule of law, to speak up against scholasticide in Gaza, and to allow free speech for voices opposing genocide in Gaza.
- To commit to refraining from partnerships with academic institutions that are instrumental to the commission, or support, or enablement of scholasticide.
The full statement and notes are available to download:
Senate statement on Gaza (Oct 28)
===================================================
Senate Statement on Scholasticide in Gaza, Palestine:
Senate notes
1. That SOAS issued, on 15 December 2023, a statement expressing horror over “the near total destruction of the higher educational sector in the Gaza Strip” and “calling for an immediate ceasefire to prevent any further loss of civilian life.”[1] The ceasefire of October 2025 is hugely welcomed, even if it is only the beginning and not the end of negotiation and rebuilding.
2. That UN Special Rapporteurs expressed in April 2024 grave concern over scholasticide in Gaza, defined as the systemic obliteration of education through the arrest, detention or killing of teachers, students and staff, and the destruction of educational infrastructure. ‘It may be reasonable to ask if there is an intentional effort to comprehensively destroy the Palestinian education system, an action known as “scholasticide”.’[2] Since then all of Gaza’s universities’ facilities have been destroyed,[3] and more than 97% of Gaza’s schools were damaged ot destroyed.[4] More than 17,085 school students, 739 schoolteachers and staff, 1,261 university students and 226 academics and university staff were killed in Gaza between October 2023 and August 2025.[5]
3. That the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry released, on 10 June 2025, a report on the Israel military’s deliberate and systematic destruction of cultural, religious, and educational institutions and sites in Gaza.[6]
4. That the systematic destruction of the educational sector in Gaza has been repeatedly cited as evidence that Israel has been committing a genocide in Gaza, including by Amnesty International (December 2024);[7] B’Tselem (July 2025);[8] the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (August 2025); [9] and the UN Commission of Inquiry’s genocide report (16 September 2025).[10] Indeed, the Commission stated that attacks on education “were aimed at causing irreversible harm to Palestinians in Gaza by destroying elements of the
Palestinian people’s identity and erasing Palestinian culture from Gaza”.[11]
5. That in July 2025 the Presidents of three universities in Gaza called upon the international academic community to show effective forms of solidarity including, working for “a sustainable and lasting ceasefire” and “an end to all complicity with this genocide”; “mobilisation to support and protect Gaza’s higher education institutions”; the “recognition of scholasticide as a systematic war on education”; and supporting the efforts of Palestinian academics in Gaza “to continue teaching and conducting research”.[12]
6. That there has been a legitimate concern that Israeli universities may be contributing to the violation of Palestinian rights by cooperating with the Israeli military industrial complex, and thereby supporting apartheid.13
7. That genocide has been denied by the Israeli government, while the UK government’s former Foreign Secretary stated on 1 September 2025: ‘Israel must do much more to prevent and alleviate the suffering that this conflict is causing. As per the Genocide Convention, the crime of genocide occurs only where there is specific “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.” The (UK) Government has not concluded that Israel is acting with that intent.’[13]
8. But that the International Association of Genocide Scholars resolved on 31 August 2025 that Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide in Article II of the United Nations Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948).[14] Likewise, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry determined on 16 September 2025 that Israel has committed a genocide in Gaza.[15]
9. That a call was issued in May 2025 by the Black Flag Action Group and signed by over 1400 academic staff of Israeli HEIs, recognised academics’ own role in crimes against humanity and insisted on making Palestinian suffering central to its objections to the war.[16]
10. That in May 2024, Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel released a report on “Repression of Palestinian Students in [36] Israeli Universities and Colleges”.[17]
11. That in some countries (including Norway, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, Netherlands, Italy and Brazil), some universities and scholarly bodies (including the European Association of Social Anthropologists, the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies, and the Middle East Studies Association) have called for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions.[18]
12. That organisations in the cultural and artistic sphere have also called for a boycott of Israeli institutions that are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people”;[19] and several European states have argued for exclusion of Israel from the Eurovision contest.
13. That the European Commission recently proposed to the Council of Europe a suspension of certain trade-related provisions of the Association Agreement between the EU and Israel.[20]
14. That SOAS, as a higher education institution, is committed to social justice and opposed to all forms of racism and discrimination, such as Anti-semitism and Islamophobia, as stated in our Charter on Racism, Antisemitism and All Forms of Cultural, Ethnic and Religious Chauvinism.[21] The university has held events and released statements that challenge both Islamophobia and Anti-semitism[22] and has expressed shock and extreme sadness at the terrorist attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Greater Manchester on 2 October 2025.[23]
15. That the implication of the values in our new 2026-2030 strategy dictate that in our teaching and research, we seek to understand the root causes of long-standing injustice and recognise the contextual factors that give rise to it; that there is a need to apply a universal standard to all war crimes and crimes against humanity; and that as an academic body we share a responsibility to show unequivocal and meaningful solidarity with academics and universities internationally.
16. That this responsibility is heightened in the context of Palestine after the International Court of Justice’s ruling on 19 July 2024 that Israel’s occupation since 1967 is “unlawful”; that it violates the Palestinian people’s fundamental right to self-determination; that Israel’s policies “amount to annexation” and have violated the fundamental prohibition on acquisition of territory by force; and that Israel has breached Article 3 of the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which prohibits apartheid and racial segregation.[24]
17. That this responsibility is further heightened in the context of Palestine after three orders of provisional measures by the International Court of Justice, in January, March, and May 2024, warning of the risk of genocide and requiring action to prevent this risk of genocide.26
Senate resolves
1. To protect those academics who teach about genocide, and who name scholasticide in Gaza, in line with scholarly and legal evidence.
2. To call for substantial international support for maintaining the ceasefire.
3. To call on the UK government to impose a full arms embargo on Israel as a form of meaningful material pressure to promote an enduring ceasefire.
4. To commit to developing initiatives and partnerships to support the continuation and rebuilding of the higher education sector in Gaza.
5. To express solidarity with academics and universities in Palestine, who have all been affected by scholasticide.
6. To call upon Israeli academic institutions to support the international rule of law, to speak up against scholasticide in Gaza, and to allow free speech for voices opposing genocide in Gaza.
7. To commit to refraining from partnerships with academic institutions that are instrumental to the commission, or support, or enablement of scholasticide.
[1] https://www.soas.ac.uk/about/news/statement-dr-refaat-alareer-and-higher-education-sector-gaza-strip
[2] https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/04/un-experts-deeply-concerned-over-scholasticide-gaza
[3] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-07/gaza-lost-generation-of-students-academic-say/105379150
[4] https://www.unrwa.org/resources/reports/verification-damages-schools-based-proximity-damaged-sites-gazaoccupied-palestinian-territory
[5] Chandni Desai, Sundos Hammad, Ahmed Abu Shaban & Abdel Razzaq Takriti, “Scholasticide and resilience: The Gaza Genocide and the struggle for Palestinian higher education”, Curriculum Inquiry, 9 October 2025, DOI: 10.1080/03626784.2025.2558520
[6] https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/06/israeli-attacks-educational-religious-and-cultural-sitesoccupied
[7] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/12/amnesty-international-concludes-israel-is-committinggenocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza/
[8] https://www.btselem.org/publications/202507_our_genocide
[9] https://pchrgaza.org/voices-of-the-genocide-a-report-by-the-palestinian-centre-for-human-rights-on-the-israelioccupations-perpetuation-of-genocide-targeting-the-palestinian-existence-the-gaza/
[10] https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/israel-has-committed-genocide-gaza-strip-un-commissionfinds
[11] https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/israel-has-committed-genocide-gaza-strip-un-commissionfinds (at p. 57).
[12] https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/7/14/an-open-letter-from-the-presidents-of-gaza-universities 13 See, e.g., Maya Wind, Towers of Ivory and Steel: How Israeli Universities Deny Palestinian Freedom (Verso 2024).
[13] https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/49215/documents/262248/default/
[14] https://genocidescholars.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/IAGS-Resolution-on-Gaza-FINAL.pdf SOAS scholar Nimer Sultany also wrote about the threshold for genocide in May 2024:
[15] https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/israel-has-committed-genocide-gaza-strip-un-commissionfinds
[16] https://academeblog.org/2025/06/09/an-urgent-call-to-the-heads-of-academia-in-israel/
[17] https://www.adalah.org/en/content/view/11116
[18] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/13/universities-around-the-world-cut-ties-with-israeli-academiaover-gaza-war
[19] https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/sep/08/film-pledge-israeli-institutions-palestinians; https://artistsforpalestine.org.uk/a-pledge/
[20] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_2112
[21] https://www.soas.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2022-07/discrimination-charter.pdf
[22] https://blogs.soas.ac.uk/cop/event/islamophobia-intensification-of-racism-against-muslims-in-the-uk/ , https://blogs.soas.ac.uk/cop/event/the-politics-of-antisemitism/, https://www.soas.ac.uk/about/news/soasstatement, https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/soas-pledges-stand-against-antisemitism-without-ihradefinition
[23] https://www.soas.ac.uk/about/news/soas-statement-manchester-synagogue-terrorist-attack
[24] https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/186/186-20240719-adv-01-00-en.pdf
26 https://www.icj-cij.org/case/192
===================================================================================https://www.brismes.ac.uk/journal/policy-on-territorial-or-land-acknowledgement
BRISMES Mandatory Policy on Territorial or Land Acknowledgement
Updated 22 September 2025.
This policy sets out the mandatory requirements for land and territorial acknowledgement for all individuals submitting to the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies (BJMES) and/or participating in the annual BRISMES conference.
1. Scope of the Policy
This policy applies to:
- All authors submitting articles to the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies (BJMES);
- All individuals submitting proposals or participating in the BRISMES Annual Conference;
- All authors or participants who are:
- Working or studying at an institution located on land appropriated from Indigenous peoples by settler colonial regimes, including (but not limited to) the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel (1948 Palestine); or
- Based at institutions established on land appropriated by a foreign occupying power, in contravention of international law, such as in Occupied Palestinian Territory;
- Any individual whose research was conducted on such appropriated or occupied land.
2. Policy Requirements
In alignment with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP, 2007) and BRISMES’s commitment to anti-colonial, anti-racist, and international legal principles, authors and conference participants are required to:
A. Institutional Acknowledgement
Acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which the institution to which they are affiliated is located, and/or, in the case of military occupation, acknowledge the status of the land under international law.
B. Research Location Acknowledgement
If the research underpinning the article or paper was conducted on land that is:
- Traditionally owned by Indigenous peoples (in settler colonial contexts), or
- Under foreign military occupation in violation of international law,
Then this must also be acknowledged in the manuscript or presentation materials.
3. Guidelines for Implementation
To comply with this policy, authors and presenters must:
- Include a land acknowledgement in:
- The author affiliation section (when submitting a manuscript/paper abstract/conference registration/conference visual presentation materials)
- The acknowledgements section (providing further details, in final manuscript submission/conference paper)
- When applicable, reference the relevant legal instruments or UN resolutions recognizing the status of the land (e.g., UNSC Resolution 2334 (2016) for Occupied Palestinian Territory; UNSC 550 (1984) for occupied northern Cyprus).
- When referring to Indigenous peoples, use Indigenous place names or language terms, accompanied by an English translation where necessary.
- Where relevant, document partnerships with Indigenous communities or stakeholders involved in the research process.
Land acknowledgement in the case of settler colonies
Example 1:
Author affiliation: Author name, Department of History, The University of British Columbia (Vancouver Campus), situated on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Canada
Acknowledgements: The University of British Columbia (Vancouver Campus) is situated on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. I acknowledge the enduring connection of Indigenous peoples to this land and the ongoing legacy of settler colonialism.
Example 2:
Author affiliation: Author name, Department of Middle Eastern and African History, Tel Aviv University, built on the site of the Palestinian village of Sheikh Muwanis, Israel.
Acknowledgements: Tel Aviv University is located on the site of the Palestinian village of Sheikh Muwanis, which was depopulated during the Nakba of 1948.
Land acknowledgement in the case of Occupied Territory
Example 1:
Author affiliation: Name of Author, Department of Middle Eastern Studies, Ariel University, Occupied Palestinian Territory (United Nations designation)
Acknowledgements: Ariel University is located in an Israeli settlement in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016) affirms is illegal under international law.
Example 2:
Author affiliation: Name of Author, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Middle East Technical University-Northern Cyprus Campus, Republic of Cyprus under Turkish military occupation (United Nations designation)
Acknowledgements: Middle East Technical University-Northern Cyprus Campus is located in the Republic of Cyprus, in an area under Turkish military occupation. The campus was established by the Government of Turkey and is not recognised by the Government of the Republic of Cyprus. UN Security Council Resolution 550 (1984) affirms that the UN does not recognise Turkish sovereignty over northern Cyprus.
Land acknowledgement in the case of research taking place in Occupied Territory
Example 1
Author affiliation: Name of Author, XX University (that does not fall under the land acknowledgement policy).
Acknowledgements: This research was conducted in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which, according to the International Court of Justice advisory opinion of 19 July 2024 is under unlawful Israeli occupation. See ICJ Summary 2024/8 and UN General Assembly Resolution A/78/968.
4. Why This Policy Matters
Acknowledging the land is not a symbolic act but a critical ethical and political gesture. It recognizes:
- The historical and ongoing dispossession of Indigenous and colonized peoples;
- The role of institutions in upholding or challenging colonial structures;
- The imperative to conduct scholarship that is accountable, contextualized, and conscious of power dynamics in knowledge production.
This policy affirms BRISMES’s commitment to decolonial scholarship, human rights, and international legal norms.
5. Additional Resources
- Native Land Interactive Map – https://native-land.ca (Identifies Indigenous territories globally — especially useful for those in settler colonial states.)
- Visualizing Palestine Map – https://today.visualizingpalestine.org (Illustrates colonization and land appropriation in historic Palestine.)
- Guide to Land Acknowledgements – https://nativegov.org/a-guide-to-indigenous-land-acknowledgment/ (Practical tips for meaningful and respectful acknowledgements.)
6. Compliance and Enforcement
This is a mandatory policy. Submissions to BJMES and proposals to the BRISMES conference that do not comply with the land or territorial acknowledgement requirements will be returned. Continued non-compliance will result in the rejection of the submission or withdrawal of participation.
BRISMES reserves the right to request clarification or additional information from authors or presenters regarding their institutional or research locations to ensure compliance.
7. Assistance and Contact
For further clarification or assistance in preparing a land acknowledgement, please contact:
Dr Lloyd Ridgeon, Editor, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies: lvjr@ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Or
BRISMES Manager: office@brismes.org
8. Disclaimer
This policy reflects the position of BRISMES only. It does not represent the views of the publisher, Editor, or any other third parties associated with this Journal, nor those of any institution hosting the BRISMES conference.
9. References
United Nations. (2007). Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. https://www.un.org/development…
United Nations. (2024). Advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. 19 July. A/78/968, https://docs.un.org/en/A/78/968
United Nations Security Council (2016) Resolution 2334 https://www.un.org/webcast/pdf…
The University of British Columbia, https://www.ubc.ca/about/
—————————————————-
BRISMES Mandatory Policy on Ethical Publishing and Participation Standards
In line with BRISMES’s commitment to human rights, anti-racism, and decolonial scholarship, submissions and participation in BRISMES activities are subject to the following ethical standards.
A paper/proposal will be excluded if it:
- Glorifies or justifies gross human rights violations, including war crimes, crimes against humanity (including apartheid), or genocide in any context.
- Incites racial discrimination, hostility, or violence.
- Is submitted by an academic who:
a. Has served in the military forces (including logistical and intelligence units) of a state charged in international courts with war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide, where such service took place during the period in which those crimes occurred.
b. Is reasonably suspected of involvement in public incitement to war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide.
c. Engages in advocacy of national, racial, or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence, as prohibited under international human rights law and recognised as among the severest forms of hate speech.
The above stipulations also apply to reviewers, editors, editorial board members, committee members, employees and other individuals involved in BRISMES activities.
Compliance and Enforcement
This is a mandatory policy. Submissions to BJMES, proposals to the BRISMES conference or registration to the conference by individuals that violate BRISMES’s ethical publishing and participation standards will be rejected.
BRISMES reserves the right to request clarification or additional information from authors or presenters regarding their involvement in activities that are prohibited under international law.
For further clarification or assistance in relation to this policy, please contact:
Dr Lloyd Ridgeon, Editor, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies: lvjr@ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Or
BRISMES Manager: office@brismes.org
Disclaimer
This policy reflects the position of BRISMES only. It does not represent the views of the publisher, Editor, or any other third parties associated with this Journal, nor those of any institution hosting the BRISMES conference.
===================================================================================
SOAS Senate condemns Israel’s scholasticide in Gaza, urges UK arms embargo
The Senate advises SOAS’s Board of Trustees on the institution’s direction, including its academic activities
The New Arab Staff & Agencies 31 October, 2025
The Senate of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) has issued a statement condemning scholasticide in Gaza and is seeking a refrainment of partnerships that enable it.
In the statement published on Thursday, the Senate issued seven separate policy resolutions on the issue of Israel’s war on Gaza, including a commitment “to refrain from partnership with academic institutions that are instrumental to the commission, or support, or enablement of scholasticide”.
The statement also called for Israeli academic institutions to “speak up against scholasticide in Gaza,” and expressed solidarity with institutions and academics in Palestine affected by scholasticide.
The Senate advises SOAS’s Board of Trustees on the institution’s direction, including its academic activities.
The statement also calls on the university to protect academics teaching about genocide, including those who label Israel’s war on Gaza a scholasticide, as well as calling for the maintenance of the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza.
Additionally, the statement calls on the UK government to impose a unilateral arms embargo against Israel, and to develop partnerships with Gaza’s higher education sector.
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, the enclave’s education sector has been battered by Israeli airstrikes, which have also killed over 68,000 Palestinians.
The statements cite numerous reports accusing Israel of committing scholasticide as part of a genocide in Gaza, including Amnesty International, B’Tselem, and a UN commission of inquiry.
The statement defines scholasticide as “the systematic obliteration of education through the arrest, detention or killing of teachers, students and staff, and the destruction of educational infrastructure.”
The new calls come amid claims that universities across the UK have repressed pro-Palestine students, including SOAS, which removed a pro-Palestine encampment from campus.
In August, the university took action against Haya Adam, a second-year law and international relations student and leader of the school’s Palestine Society, on account of breaking the university’s code of conduct, an accusation Adam denied.
Related
‘Radical’ but wrong: Why I support a reasonable academic boycott
Sari Hanafi
===================================================================
israel-academia-monitor.com 
No surprises here with SOAS university. This is a School where the Vice-Chancellor recently likened Israel to Nazi Germany – a clear breach of the IHRA definition of antisemitism. Surprising that this got no traction or coverage in the newspapers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oEfs7wuMas
Complain directly to: Ms Donna Fong, SOAS Director of Legal Affairs & Governance on df24@soas.ac.uk who is ultimately responsible for complaint and disciplinary matters and the adoption of the IHRA Definition (which SOAS continues to refuse to take on)
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