Intellectual and discursive battles over palestine
2025 International Conference
University of Macedonia
4.10.25 - 5.10.25
University of Macedonia
4.10.25 - 5.10.25
Apart from their geopolitical implications, recent developments in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict have ignited intense discussion, particularly within academic and intellectual circles throughout the world. There is a widening gap between opposing interpretive communities, with evident power imbalances: in parts of the West, critiques of Israel's destruction of Gaza may be conflated with antisemitism, with significant repercussions. In the US in particular, the presidents of Penn and Harvard Universities were compelled to resign over accusations of "tolerating antisemitism," while in Germany, the traditionally stringent policy regarding public criticisms of Israel has impacted university life, resulting in the termination of contracts for some academics expressing solidarity with Palestinians. At the same time, although all relevant documents by the International Court of Justice and the UN Secretary General highlight the continuous occupation of Palestinian territories by Israel, only non-European countries are vocal in their critiques of Israeli policies, with some even advocating for the suspension of diplomatic relations. In December 2023, South Africa launched a legal campaign to label Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide, leading to the opening of an ongoing case at the ICJ. However, amidst these dynamics, genuine antisemitism exploits the context of the conflict: the appearance of the sign ‘Jews not allowed’ in a bookstore in Istanbul in late October 2023 was a worrying sign of these blurring boundaries between solidarity with Palestinian civilians on one hand, and hatred against Jews, on the other.
The international conference aims at comprehensively examining these complexities, with a specific focus on the intellectual and discursive battles over Palestine and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The conference seeks first and foremost to promote and defend the right to critique, and confront practices that endanger academic freedom and critical thinking over power, hegemony, war, civic rights and human dignity.
More infos on the conference can be found here.
The international conference aims at comprehensively examining these complexities, with a specific focus on the intellectual and discursive battles over Palestine and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The conference seeks first and foremost to promote and defend the right to critique, and confront practices that endanger academic freedom and critical thinking over power, hegemony, war, civic rights and human dignity.
More infos on the conference can be found here.
The conference is organised by the Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies (University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece) in collaboration with:
The conference is funded by the Reserach Committee of the University of Macedonia.
- The American University of Baghdad
- Centre for the Study of Conflict, Emotion and Social Justice (CESJ) Bournemouth University
- DESIRE - Center for the study of democracy, signification and resistance
- The Civil Wars Study Group
- The Department of Political Science and International Relations at Baskent University, Ankara, Turkey
- The Institute of Research and Study on the Arab and Islamic Worlds at the University of Marseille, France
- The Leiden Institute of Area Studies (Leiden University), The Netherlands
The conference is funded by the Reserach Committee of the University of Macedonia.