Editorial Note
The Harvard Divinity School program of Religion and Public Life is running events presenting Israel in a negative light.
The Religion and Public Life initiative was established in 2019. It integrates a number of existing Harvard Divinity School programs along with seminars, conferences, and other activities initiated by faculty, intending to “strengthen the public understanding of religion across multiple sectors, toward a more creative, just, and peaceful future.”
Instead of focusing on peace, they trash Israel. This is not surprising because Palestinian American Hilary Rantisi is the associate director.
The radical Israeli academic activist is Atalia Omer, a senior fellow. She was interviewed in 2019 in an article by The Nation on BDS and anti-Zionist activism, where she discussed her book Days of Awe: Reimagining Jewishness in Solidarity With Palestinians. She revealed that “the radical synagogue I attend, Tzedek Chicago, invited Omar Barghouti, the cofounder of the BDS movement.”
The examples of their Israel bashing are numerous. For instance, a recent project, “Disrupting Injustice and Promoting Moral Imagination in Israel/Palestine” talked about “illuminating transnational solidarities, reimagining Jewish identity, Palestinian steadfastness (Sumoud), and cultivating moral imagination and creative possibilities for a just peace in Israel/Palestine.” In another event that took place recently, titled “Shared Resistance and Solidarity: A (Re)Newed Paradigm,” Oriel Eisner was in a conversation about “engaging in immersive solidarity work and shared resistance in the last year as a part of a renewal of efforts in joint struggle against the Occupation.”
In another event, “The Decolonizing Rubric: Modernity, Religion, and Re-imagining Palestine/Israel,” three scholars participated: Dr. Bashir Bashir, from the Israeli Open University, the co-editor of The Holocaust and the Nakba: A New Grammar of Trauma and History, in 2018 whose also authored The Arab and Jewish Questions: Geographies of Entanglement in Palestine and Beyond (2020); Dr. Mahmood Mamdani, Columbia University, who discussed his most recent book, Neither Settler nor Native: The Making and Unmaking of Permanent Minorities, in 2020. Mamdani argued that “the nation state was born of colonialism, urging us to rethink political violence and re-imagine political community beyond majorities and minorities”; Dr. Areej Sabbagh-Khoury of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem discussed her forthcoming book, which “examines encounters between kibbutz settlers and Palestinian inhabitants in northern Palestine’s Jezreel Valley before, during, and after 1948. Drawing on resources uncovered in the settler colonial archives.” It demonstrates the “coloniality of socialist Zionist settlers’ practices of purchase, expropriation, and accumulation by dispossession.”
In April, a discussion will take place on “Decolonize Now: A Conversation about Radical Love and Justice in Palestine/Israel”. The speaker is Noura Erakat, from Rutgers University, whose anti-Israeli views are well known: “Since the signing of Oslo, or the Declaration of Principles, in 1993, the question of Palestine has been rammed into the constricting paradigms of statehood and diplomatic negotiations. The peace process framework not only eschewed the consequential dimension of power from the question of Palestine but limited its possible futures by reducing it to a matter of, at best, equitable partitions. This conversation aims to peel back those debilitating frameworks to consider how other approaches like anti-racism, feminism, and anti-imperialism can help overcome restrictive binaries and lead to decolonial futures.”
Also, in April, “Walking Through the Twilight: A Visual Exploration of Contemporary Jewish Anti-Occupation Activism.” The panel would feature “a photographic exploration of American Jewish activism in solidarity with Palestinians against the Israeli military occupation.”
Later in April, the program will feature “Expressions of Sumoud in Palestinian Higher Education,” questioning “What is the role of Palestinian universities in the struggle for freedom and justice?” Rana Khoury “shares her exploration of developing a dedicated curriculum and the experience of Dar Al-Kalima University in shaping Palestinian students as cultural activists.”
Last but not least, the event, “Yom Ha’atzmaut and the Colonization of American Judaism.” Rabbi Brant Rosen of Tzedek Chicago and Daniel Boyarin of the University of California, Berkeley, will converse on the “ways that Zionist hegemony is expressed through the Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) that has become a staple on the American Jewish holiday calendar, projecting themes of militarism, colonialism, and empire on to sacred religious tradition.”
As can be seen, the sessions are all exercises in bashing Israel, featuring some of the more radical anti-Israel voices. More to the point, there is nothing in the Harvard program concerning the many issues the Palestinians have faced. For instance, there is a real possibility that Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, under the guidance of the Quds Force, the foreign division of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards, would try to take over the West Bank. Fearing such an outcome, the Palestinian Authority canceled last year the democratic elections.
The organizers of the Harvard Divinity School program would be well advised to read the article of Daniel Levin, “Iran, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” published by The United States Institute of Peace, in 2018, updated in May 2021. Levin discusses the real issues the Palestinian society faces today, not the convoluted presentations in which Israelis can do no right and the Palestinians can do no wrong.
References:
https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/news/religion-conflict-and-peace-initiative-fellows-spring-series
Religion and Public Life – Harvard Divinity School | Harvard University
Disrupting Injustice and Promoting Moral Imagination in Israel/Palestine
January 31, 2022
Conflict and Peace Fellows at Religion and Public Life (RPL) talk about their projects illuminating transnational solidarities, reimagining Jewish identity, Palestinian steadfastness (Sumoud), and cultivating moral imagination and creative possibilities for a just peace in Israel/Palestine.
Shared Resistance and Solidarity: A (Re)Newed Paradigm
Tuesday, February 15 | 12–1:00pm EST | Zoom
REGISTER FOR FEBRUARY 15
Oriel Eisner, Topol Fellow at RCPI, and on-the-ground organizer with the Center for Jewish Nonviolence
In conversation with Neomi-Nur Zahor, Activist and Arabic teacher, and Basil al-Adraa, Activist and Journalist
RCPI Fellow Oriel Eisner in conversation with a Palestinian and an Israeli activist—talking about their experience engaging in immersive solidarity work and shared resistance in the last year as a part of a renewal of efforts in joint struggle against the Occupation.
Moderator: Hilary Rantisi, Associate Director, Religion, Conflict and Peace Initiative, HDS
Breaking Walls: Historical and Contemporary Mizrahi Feminist Struggles for Housing in Israel/Palestine
Tuesday, March 1 | 12–1:00pm EST | Zoom
REGISTER FOR MARCH 1
Sapir Sluzker-Amran, RCPI Fellow; Human Rights Lawyer and Co-founder of Breaking Walls Feminist Grassroots Movement
In conversation with Yali Hashash, Head of Gender and Criminology Department, Or Yehuda College
Sapir Sluzker Amran along with Yali Hashash will explore the role of powerful civic grassroots movements in Israel/Palestine that center feminist-queer-class-race intersectionality and solidarity while challenging secular liberal thinking about feminist leadership. They will discuss the role of alternative and community archives by showcasing feminist activism from the 1950’s onwards and highlighting Mizrahi feminist struggles for housing in Israel/Palestine.
Moderator: Lihi Yona, JSD candidate at Columbia Law School focusing on employment law and race theory in Israel and the United States.
The Troubled Everyday in/of Gaza: Restoring Agency and Creative Possibility
Tuesday, March 8 | 12–1:00pm EST | Zoom
REGISTER FOR MARCH 8
Salem Al-Qudwa, RCPI Fellow and Architect
In conversation with Sara Roy, Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University
Salem Al-Qudwa will showcase his work focusing on community and people with an emphasis on ethics, social injustice, and architecture in conflict zones such as the Gaza Strip. He will also introduce his work on gender and in-between spaces exploring barriers, exploitation, and the relationship of widowed women to space and architecture.
Co-sponsored by The Middle East Forum at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard
To Eat Alone Is To Die Alone: A Voyage into the Lives of Seeds and their Communities
Tuesday, March 22 | 12–1:00pm EST | Zoom
REGISTER FOR MARCH 22
Vivien Sansour, RCPI Fellow; Founder of Palestine Heirloom Seed Library
In conversation with Riad Bahhur, Professor of History and Global Studies at Sacramento City College
Vivien Sansour will be sharing excerpts of her upcoming autobiographical book weaving a poetic narration of people, plants, and other food stories from Palestine to South America, taking us on her journey of establishing the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library and the projects that resulted from it. Professor Bahhur will explore with Vivien how stories inform our political and social realities on a global level and how they can be catalysts for a new conversation about indigenous knowledge and spirituality.
A Home for the Human Spirit: Cultural Activism and the Moral Imagination in the Inherit Art Project
Tuesday, March 29 | 12–1:00pm EST | Zoom
REGISTER FOR MARCH 29
Taurean J. Webb, RCPI Fellow; Instructor of Religion and Race at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
In conversation with Brian Bantum, Professor of Theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, and Lux Eterna, Australian-born Palestinian artist featured in exhibition
This presentation chronicles the evolution of the collaborative art exhibition, Ye Shall Inherit the Earth & Faces of the Divine. The exhibition featuring works of artists from the African Diasporic and Palestinian exilic communities, attempts to gesture towards some commentary about both the universality and specificity of conversations ranging from human rights, human dignity, and artistic production-as-a practice of resistance. Follow the Inherit exhibition on Instagram @inherit_exhibit22.
Decolonize Now: A Conversation about Radical Love and Justice in Palestine/Israel
*Wednesday, April 6 | 1–2:00pm EST | Zoom*
REGISTER FOR APRIL 6
Noura Erakat, RCPI Fellow; Associate Professor at Rutgers University, Department of Africana Studies
In conversation with Marshall Ganz, Rita E. Hauser Senior Lecturer in Leadership, Organizing, and Civil Society at Harvard Kennedy School
Since the signing of Oslo, or the Declaration of Principles, in 1993, the question of Palestine has been rammed into the constricting paradigms of statehood and diplomatic negotiations. The peace process framework not only eschewed the consequential dimension of power from the question of Palestine but limited its possible futures by reducing it to a matter of, at best, equitable partitions. This conversation aims to peel back those debilitating frameworks to consider how other approaches like anti-racism, feminism, and anti-imperialism can help overcome restrictive binaries and lead to decolonial futures.
*Please note that this event falls on a Wednesday at 1pm EST.
Walking Through the Twilight: A Visual Exploration of Contemporary Jewish Anti-Occupation Activism
Tuesday, April 12 | 12–1:00pm EST | Zoom
REGISTER FOR APRIL 12
Mati Milstein, RCPI Fellow; American Jewish photojournalist and documentary photographer
In conversation with Awdah Al-Hathaleen, Activist, Oriel Eisner, Activist, and Emily Glick, Activist
Walking Through the Twilight is a photographic exploration of American Jewish activism in solidarity with Palestinians against the Israeli military occupation. The project explores the interplay between Jewish religious identity and activism, discussing issues of identity, faith, and action.
Moderator: Atalia Omer, Professor of Religion, Conflict, and Peace Studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at University of Notre Dame and T. J. Dermot Dunphy Visiting Professor of Religion, Violence, and Peacebuilding and Senior Fellow in Conflict and Peace at Harvard Divinity School
“Sumoud” by Varvara Abd al-Razeq, Dar Al-Kalima University
Expressions of Sumoud in Palestinian Higher Education
Tuesday, April 19 | 12–1:00pm EST | Zoom
REGISTER FOR APRIL 19
Rana Khoury, RCPI Fellow; Vice President for Development at Dar Al-Kalima University
In conversation with Hilary Rantisi, Associate Director, Religion, Conflict and Peace Initiative, Harvard Divinity School
What is the role of Palestinian universities in the struggle for freedom and justice? Rana shares her exploration of developing a dedicated curriculum and the experience of Dar Al-Kalima University in shaping Palestinian students as cultural activists.
Yom Ha’atzmaut and the Colonization of American Judaism
Tuesday, April 26 | 12–1:00pm EST | Zoom
REGISTER FOR APRIL 26
Brant Rosen, Topol Fellow at RCPI; Rabbi, Tzedek Chicago
In conversation with Daniel Boyarin, Hermann P. and Sophia Taubman Professor of Talmudic Culture in the Departments of Near Eastern Studies and Rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley
In conversation with Daniel Boyarin, Rabbi Brant Rosen interrogates the ways that Zionist hegemony is expressed through the Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) that has become a staple on the American Jewish holiday calendar, projecting themes of militarism, colonialism, and empire on to sacred religious tradition. He will also present an alternative framing of this day as a religious observance – one that expresses remembrance, repentance, and reparations.
Moderator: Atalia Omer, Professor of Religion, Conflict, and Peace Studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at University of Notre Dame and T. J. Dermot Dunphy Visiting Professor of Religion, Violence, and Peacebuilding and Senior Fellow in Conflict and Peace at Harvard Divinity School
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