Who we are
We are academics, employees of public universities and other educational and research institutions in the Czech Republic who care about defending human rights and other universal values. We consider it necessary for the academic sphere to express itself on current issues of fundamental social importance and take valuable positions on them.
Why We Are Presenting This Initiative
We have decided to come forward and issue this statement because of the state of public debate in the Czech Republic and because of the attitudes that, at least on the surface, prevail in a significant part of society in relation to the escalation of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after October 7, 2023. During the months following the attack In relation to the war in Gaza and the events in Israel and Palestine, Hamas was shown the fundamental deficits of the Czech public debate, including the concept of the role of universities and academic institutions. This initiative is an effort to at least partially correct these serious shortcomings.
The crimes against humanity and violence against Israeli civilians that occurred on 7 October, as well as the continued holding of Israeli hostages in Gaza, received justifiable public condemnation. In contrast, the long-standing violence against Palestinian civilians, which repeatedly escalates into the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity, is downplayed, ignored or denied, or worse, even defended. This selective and one-sided attitude is most evident in the political sphere and the media, but it extends to other areas of public life, including educational and research institutions. We are convinced that regardless of whether it stems from lack of information or ideological prejudices, this attitude is unjustifiable and in its consequences represents a failure of the public sphere and civil society, which is supposed to be based on respect for human life and human dignity.
If we apply values that we consider universal only in selected cases and to selected groups of people, we risk denying their meaning and validity. If we cannot face the fact of unacceptable violence and do not adequately name it, we risk becoming blind to violence as a society and losing the ability to respond to it in the future. We therefore consider it necessary to openly condemn acts of lawlessness, aggression and violence. We consider it legitimate to exert non-violent social pressure demanding their cessation, investigation and punishment by international judicial institutions.
We are aware that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not the only burning problem we face, and that the Gaza Strip and other occupied Palestinian territories are not the only scenes of oppression, violence and suffering in the world. This is not and must not be a reason for hand-waving and passivity, for two reasons in particular.
Firstly, the violence currently taking place in the Gaza Strip is itself serious and extraordinary in its scale. Israel’s retaliatory attack plunged more than two million people into degrading and inhumane conditions with no possibility of rescue or escape. War crimes and crimes against humanity, investigated by international judicial institutions and documented by international humanitarian organizations, led to the killing of tens of thousands of people and left a lasting impression on the lives of tens of thousands more wounded and hundreds of thousands of survivors. The speed and scale of the destruction, suffering and humanitarian disaster that Israel’s operation in Gaza has caused is in many ways unprecedented in decades. We are speaking out about this conflict and this mass suffering of the civilian population because of its unacceptable nature. The war in Gaza is considered by many experts to be one of the most destructive conflicts since the end of World War II. This cannot be ignored.
Secondly, we are motivated by the one-sided position of the Czech political scene and a significant part of the public sphere. Not only is it unable to define itself clearly and unequivocally in relation to this violence, but it often actively approves and supports it in domestic and international forums. Israel claims to be the only democracy in the Middle East and, unlike other regimes that also commit violence against civilians, benefits from extensive diplomatic, material and academic support and cooperation from a number of democratic countries, including the Czech Republic. This support is unacceptable to us. The Czech Republic co-responsible responsible for the violence being committed.
Who We Are Not and What We Reject
Our goal is not to take sides in the ongoing conflict or offer a one-sided interpretation of it. We consider it necessary to draw attention to unacceptable acts of violence, regardless of who commits them, and to make visible the point of view and legitimate claims of a party that is marginalized in the Czech debate and whose humanity and claim to universal human rights are questioned. We do not claim to have a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, we consider it our duty to be critical of steps that delay or make solutions impossible and that deepen the state of violence and injustice.
We resolutely reject any form of hatred or discrimination based on nationality, ethnicity, religion or other identity. We condemn anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in any form. We will actively define ourselves against them as long-term and serious forms of prejudice and hatred present in our society and we want to fight against their manifestations. At the same time, we will criticize the fact that in the Czech public debate, the reprehensibility of all forms of racism is not reflected in social standards and, unlike anti-Semitism, anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic expressions do not receive adequate condemnation.
This initiative is neither “pro-Palestinian” nor “anti-Israeli.” Defending the rights of Palestinians to life, security, dignified existence and reporting their violations without prejudice is not for us an expression of special sympathy or sentiment, but a matter of course resulting from simple humanity and from the principle of universality and indivisibility of human rights. Insistence on these rights cannot be mistaken for anti-Jewish prejudice or a fight against Israel as such. Israel has the right to exist within its internationally recognized borders and its population is entitled to live in peace and security. However, these rights must not be exercised at the expense of the Palestinian rights to self-determination and freedom, and cannot justify the long-standing Israeli oppression, violence and systematic, decades-long violation of international law by the Israeli state, as pointed out by the International Court of Justice in its recent opinion (19/07/2024). We refuse to apply a double standard to the negotiations between states and state regimes.
War crimes and other acts of violence are the responsibility of their perpetrators. They cannot be attributed to Jews or Israeli citizens as a whole, just as it is unacceptable to attribute the violence committed on October 7, 2023 to the people of the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian people, Muslims, or Arabs as a whole. The discussion of crimes and liability, as well as its possible enforcement, must concern provable offenders. Acts of revenge and retaliation are unacceptable and reprehensible in any case. At the same time, we realize that the situation in Israel and Palestine is not defined only by individual acts of unacceptable violence, but also by the long-term structural context of inequality, oppression, prejudice and state and international policies. Part of our position is to name these structural factors and draw attention to their negative impact on the human rights of affected populations.
What are our goals?
As academics, we want to operate primarily on academic grounds, but also in the wider public space, in two main directions.
Firstly, we advocate an ethical role for universities that will be principled and expertly informed. We will therefore primarily:
- oppose the fact that universities and research institutions cooperate with institutions jointly responsible for violations of human rights and international law (let alone participate in such activities), and actively work in this sense in the bodies of academic self-governance,
- demand that universities act impartially towards students and employees in all respects, draw attention to discrimination in all its forms, including discrimination based on ethnic, religious or national affiliation or political opinion,
- advocate for the undeniable right to expression of opinion and non-violent protest activities on the part of university students and staff,
- support expressions of solidarity at academic institutions in relation to victims of violence and those who have been prevented from studying or conducting research as a result of conflict.
Secondly, we want to support the role of universities as a space for education and discussion, to mediate and develop an expert view. For this purpose, we will in particular:
- to support and foster a comprehensive debate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the inclusion of those topics and perspectives that are underrepresented in the Czech debate or are displaced from it,
- to draw attention to existing academic research and relevant discussions taking place within it,
- to invite foreign experts to discussions on their research, thereby contributing to expanding and enriching the Czech debate,
- to contribute with their own research, academic, popularization and civic activity.
We perceive our activity as fulfilling the third role of universities and research institutions and aim to cultivate public debate in Czech society – here too we want to represent an ethical but at the same time critical expert point of view, which will draw attention to perspectives, facts and connections that are neglected in this debate or neglected.
We do not intend to replace the role of the media or political representation. However, we consider it our duty to criticize them and point out their failures.
Invitation to join and information
We invite everyone who agrees with the goals of the initiative to actively join and express it with their signature.