As part of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology Colloquium Series, Iyas Salim Abu-hajiar presents: "Epistemicide in Gaza: The Targeting and destruction of Knowledge infrastructure". To watch via Zoom, click here.
Title: Epistemicide in Gaza: The Targeting and destruction of Knowledge infrastructure
Abstract: Epistemicide refers to the obliteration of knowledge systems, including physical infrastructure, educators, and scholars. In the ongoing war on Gaza, which has raged for a year, Israel has systematically targeted and destroyed nearly all educational facilities, killing thousands of students, teachers, researchers, and lecturers. According to the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, Israel's military actions are not random but part of a deliberate strategy to erase education and the future prospects of young Palestinians, even after the war.Before the conflict, Gaza was home to 796 schools and 17 higher education institutions, serving nearly 87,000 students. Many of these facilities have since been bombed, and countless researchers, scholars, and students have been killed or assassinated. One example is Al-Isra University, south of Gaza City, where Israeli forces blew up the campus and destroyed the National Museum, which housed over 3,000 rare artifacts from Islamic, Roman, and Palestinian history. University administrators in Gaza have repeatedly called for the protection of educational institutions, describing these attacks as crimes and violations of international laws, charters, and norms.
Bio: My name is Iyas Salim Abu-hajiar, and I am a Palestinian born in Gaza. I hold a PhD in Global Studies from Kyoto, Japan, along with a Master’s degree from Gaza, Palestine, and a BA from Victoria, B.C., Canada. I taught and researched in both Japan, and Palestine, along with several years work in international development across Gaza, the West Bank, and Jordan. In 2018, I co-founded the Research Center for Human Dignity at Doshisha University in Kyoto, where I served as an Assistant Professor. Currently, I am an Adjunct Professor at the College of Public and Global Affairs at Carleton University.