A letter signed by 15 UK professors – 17 Nov 2009
Israel’s Brutal Violation of Palestinian Right to Education
The outrageous treatment of the 21-year-old Bethlehem University student, Berlanty Azzam by the Israeli military is the latest incident in a long list of brutalities carried out by one of the longest and most brutal military occupations in history. Returning to Bethlehem in the West Bank, after a job interview in Ramallah, Berlanty (who has lived in Bethlehem since 2005), was detained at a military checkpoint, blindfolded, handcuffed, loaded into a military jeep and deported to Gaza on 28 October.
Since then the Israeli military has refused to allow Berlanty to return to Bethlehem. Israel has recently intensified its campaign of banning Palestinian residents of Gaza from studying at Palestinian universities in the West Bank.
Berlanty is one of thousands of Palestinian students who are denied the right to education by Israel. We urge the British government immediately to intervene and ensure that Berlanty is allowed to return to Bethlehem to complete her Bachelor¹s degree. As a signatory to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 Britain has a responsibility and indeed a duty to intervene and ensure that Palestinians under illegal occupation are fully protected and that the Palestinian right to education is upheld‹a right which we all take for granted in the UK.
Signed by:
Professor Nur Masalha, St Mary¹s University College, London
Professor Mary Grey, St Mary¹s University College, London
Professor Martha Mundy, LSE, University of London
Professor Yosefa Loshitzky, University of East London
Professor Ilan Pappe, Exeter University
Professor Haim Bresheeth, University of East London
Professor Gilbert Achcar, SOAS, University of London
Professor Frank Land, LSE, University of London
Professor Bart Moore-Gilbert, Goldsmith, University of London
Professor Mushtaq Khan, SOAS, University of London
Professor Chetan Bhatt, Goldsmiths, University of London
Professor Jonathan Rosenhead, LSE, University of London
Professor Patrick Williams, Nottingham Trent University
Professor Tim Gorringe, Exeter University
Professor Avi Shlaim, St Antony’s College, Oxford University
