{"id":3735,"date":"2016-10-07T21:25:00","date_gmt":"2016-10-07T18:25:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-01-08T19:58:18","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T17:58:18","slug":"palestinian-universities-on-frontline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/2016\/10\/palestinian-universities-on-frontline\/","title":{"rendered":"Palestinian Universities on the Frontline"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Palestinian Universities on
\nthe Frontline<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

By Sam Bahour<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
On display at the Bethlehem Museum, the abacusis a simple, but yet piercing piece of art reflecting what Palestinian kids aregoing through under military occupation. Palestinian Artist Rana Bishara fromTarshiha in the Western Galilee. (October, 2016) Printed with permission ofartist.<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Palestinian universities are
\nfighting an uphill battle on two fronts, one being the Israeli military
\noccupation, and more recently, the other being the Palestinian government.
\nAlthough each poses two very different sets of challenges, one outcome is
\nclear. If immediate and decisive intervention is not forthcoming, the
\nstructural damage that will set back entire generations of Palestinian students
\nwill haunt Palestine\u2019s developmental capabilities for many years to come. That
\nis, if the damage has not already been inflicted.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Prolonged Israeli military
\noccupation of Palestine (West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip) has
\ncaused a staggering amount of damage to the Palestinian society at large. Much
\nof this damage is visible to the naked eye, such as land grabs, settlements,
\nwalls, fences, checkpoints, demolished airports, and bombed-out buildings, just
\nto name a few. However, the more serious and long-term damage is hidden from
\nview. I call it the administratively applied part of the Israeli military
\noccupation. These invisible aspects of the occupation comprise issues such as
\nthe infamous permit system, the limiting and prohibiting of access to the
\nelectromagnetic spectrum, confiscation of water resources, severely limiting
\nPalestinians\u2019 access to water, and importation restrictions. The list is long.<\/span><\/p>\n

These are the elements of
\noccupation you cannot capture in a photo. One of the key elements Israel has routinely
\nsought to attack is Palestine\u2019s education system. The Israeli fixation on
\nblocking Palestinian education is not new.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Israel was yet in its formative
\nyears, it introduced an office of the advisor to the [Israeli] prime minister
\non Arab affairs. As quoted in Atty. Sabri Jiryis\u2019 landmark book, \u201cThe Arabs
\nin Israel<\/em>\u201d (1976), one of the most racist persons to hold this position was
\nUri Lubrani (1960-1963). Lubrani stated in a lecture, \u201cIt very probably would
\nbe better if there were no Arab university students. It probably would be
\neasier to govern them if they continued to work as wood cutters and waiters.\u201d
\nIt seems this desire has not faded away.<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Muwatin
\nInstitute for Democracy and <\/em>Human
\nRights, a Palestinian research group which recently became affiliated
\nwith Birzeit University, held its 22nd<\/sup> Annual Conference titled,
\n\u201cThe Complex Challenges Facing Palestinian Universities: Is There a Way Out?\u201d The
\nconference was held at Birzeit University on September 30 and October 1, 2016.
\nThe Muwatin Conference came on the heels of a provocative student strike at
\nBirzeit University, which witnessed a handful of students forcibly chain closed
\nthe gates of the university, totally paralyzing the university for nearly a
\nmonth and delaying the start of the school year. There is no indication that
\nthe situation has stabilized to prohibit the students (or teachers\u2019\/workers\u2019
\nunions) from undertaking future disruptive labor action. The backdrop of this
\nstrike made the Muwatin Conference even more timely.<\/span><\/p>\n

The conference brought
\ntogether an impressive audience of senior academics, education administrators,
\nincluding several current and past university presidents, private sector
\nconcerns, and Palestinian government officials, including the current Minister
\nof Education and Higher Education, Dr. Sabri Saidam, as well as several
\nex-ministers. The panels hosted some of the top Palestinian thinkers on higher education.<\/span><\/p>\n

One panel, Higher Education: Continuation
\nor Start Over?, offered an historical overview of the young Palestinian higher
\neducation sector. Another panel, Where Does Higher Education Stand in Palestine?,
\ngrappled with the need to educate for the sake of education, as well as to educate
\nto serve a productive labor market, one that is extremely distressed by
\nprolonged occupation. Other panels were titled Self-Restricting Constraints on
\nHigher Education, University Economics and Country Economics, Higher Education Under
\nOccupation, The Regulatory Framework for Higher Education, and Higher Education
\nand State Building. Having listened attentively to them all, the overarching
\nmessages were loud and clear: our higher education system remains in the crosshairs
\nof the Israeli occupation, and the Palestinian government, with its deep
\nfinancial constraints and lack of legislative oversight, is unable to stop the
\nimminent damage on its own.<\/span><\/p>\n

From the Israeli side, the
\ndamage to the higher education sector is systemic. Physical targeting of
\nuniversity facilities, as was the case at the Islamic University in the Gaza
\nStrip, and frequent incursions on to campuses, as was recently the case at the
\nPalestine Technical University (Kadoorie) located in Tulkarm and Birzeit
\nUniversity near Ramallah, have brought material damage and disruption to
\nuniversity operations. Additionally, the heavy restrictions Israel has placed
\non Palestinians\u2019 movement and access have forced universities to be established
\nnear the students, bringing the total number of universities to 15<\/a>
\nfor a population of 4.8 million with over 220,000 university students, with three
\nnew private universities in the pipeline. This forced geographic fragmenting of
\nour community is not only draining material resources, but it is cannibalizing
\nthe shrinking pool of qualified university professors, especially those holding
\nPhDs. Just last month, Israel
\ndenied entry into the country to UK-based scholar Dr. Adam Hanieh<\/a>, who was
\ninvited by the Ph.D. Program in the Social Sciences at Birzeit University to
\ndeliver a series of lectures at the university. He is not the first case of an
\nacademic being denied access. The number of Israeli restrictions and disruptions
\nis too long to list here.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the side of the Palestinian
\ngovernment, the criticism was pointed. The inability of the government to meet
\nits financial commitments to universities was highlighted by almost every
\npanelist, especially given the over 40 percent budget allocation that goes
\ntoward security. Another alarming issue brought up by many was the issue that
\nthe Palestinian security forces have \u201cinfiltrated\u201d the universities and are
\nseen as hindering the academic freedoms students expect. This criticism was exacerbated
\nby the fact that, as of late, the Palestinian security forces have arrested and
\ninterrogated many student activists.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Muwatin Conference
\ndistributed a booklet titled, \u201cHigher Education in Palestine\u2026Beyond the
\nFigures!!!\u201d I think the three explanation points in the booklet\u2019s title speak
\nfor themselves. Nevertheless, reading the set of statistics presented, from the
\nrising unemployment rates, to the declining interest in sciences, to the
\ninability of the labor market to absorb the nearly 40,000 annual graduates, it
\nbecomes apparent that the situation is reaching a tipping point and the
\nspillover, when it occurs, will not remain confined behind campus walls.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was refreshing, albeit
\ndepressing, to hear the case made by Dr. Samia Botmeh, Assistant Professor of
\nEconomics at Birzeit University, about the negative effect that neo-liberalism is
\nhaving on Palestine\u2019s higher education system. She made a convincing argument
\nthat higher education cannot merely be reduced to providing job skills to serve
\na market (something she called the \u201cproductization\u201d of education), but rather
\nmust be viewed from a much broader societal vantage point where a higher
\neducation is instilling a set of values and skills to produce a life-long
\nlearner who has the ability to assume his or her role in society, be it in serving
\na business, engaging a philosophical dilemma, producing music, or being a
\nhomemaker.<\/span><\/p>\n

One missing aspect of the
\nconference that I have interest in was how to utilize our diaspora, academics
\nand non-academics, to support the higher education of Palestinians, as well as
\nPalestinian higher education institutes. A week before the conference, my consulting
\nfirm launched a Linkedin Group, Academic Network for Palestine
\n(ANPs)<\/a>, to start to collect in one location those Palestinian academics and
\nnon-Palestinian academics who are in solidarity with Palestine to discuss ways
\nto support the sector.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ironically, as I was writing
\nthis article, my 11th-grade daughter, Nadine, came to me with her laptop in
\nhand. She enthusiastically wanted me to watch something. It was this, THE PEOPLE VS THE SCHOOL SYSTEM<\/a>,
\na YouTube clip by American rapper, spoken word artist, music video director and
\nrights activist from St Louis, Missouri, Richard Williams, better known by his
\nstage name Prince EA. Nadine\u2019s timing was spot on.<\/span><\/p>\n

Palestine\u2019s challenge is huge.
\nAs this video clip by Prince EA so eloquently articulates, we must deal with
\nthe same mega-challenges that the entire world is dealing with, the only
\ndifference is we must do so while the oppressive boot of Israeli military
\noccupation is pressing on our necks. Ignoring desperately needed reforms and
\nfreedoms in Palestine\u2019s education system levies a heavy price on students and
\nthe society at large. As Palestinian educators struggle to survive, our Israeli
\noccupier is laughing all the way to the next settlement hilltop.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sam Bahour is a Palestinian-American
\nbusinessman. He does business consulting as Applied Information Management
\n(AIM) and is the Chairman of <\/span><\/em>Americans for a Vibrant Palestinian
\nEconomy<\/em><\/a>. He served as a Board of Trustee member at
\nBirzeit University from 2004 to 2010. He writes frequently on Palestinian
\naffairs and blogs at <\/span><\/em>www.epalestine.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

SOURCE: http:\/\/bit.ly\/palestinian-universities<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Arabic at Al-Fanar Media<\/a> <\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Palestinian Universities on the Frontline By Sam Bahour On display at the Bethlehem Museum, the abacusis a simple, but yet piercing piece of art reflecting what Palestinian kids aregoing through under military occupation. Palestinian Artist Rana Bishara fromTarshiha in the Western Galilee. (October, 2016) Printed with permission ofartist. Palestinian universities are fighting an uphill battle […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","iawp_total_views":9,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[942],"tags":[443,55,48,57,40,444,445,446,447,448,449,148],"ppma_author":[936],"class_list":["post-3735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sams-writings","tag-birzeit-university","tag-education","tag-gaza","tag-higher-education","tag-israeli-occupation","tag-muwatin","tag-palestine-technical-university","tag-palestinian-universities","tag-prince-ea","tag-sabri-saidam","tag-samia-botmeh","tag-west-bank"],"authors":[{"term_id":936,"user_id":4,"is_guest":0,"slug":"sambahour","display_name":"Sam Bahour","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bca109c333bf6d8ae807746dd512adde46265d37c923f6cd0fc4aab437f8e9aa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3735"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9521,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3735\/revisions\/9521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3735"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=3735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}