Dear Provost

We write to you as staff and postgraduates of Trinity College Dublin, alongside members of the College branch of Academia for Palestine whose letter to you, dated 13th December 2023, expressed serious concern regarding the ongoing genocide in Gaza and received no response. As the months pass, the lack of any engagement or statement on the part of College leadership has grown increasingly troubling. It has fallen to individuals and groups, such as Prof Colin Doherty in the School of Medicine, the Trinity Students Union, and Academia for Palestine, to raise their voices against the horror that is unfolding. In light of the recent statement issued by the President of University of Galway, we urge you to respond to our concerns publicly and to assure the College community that Trinity opposes this genocide and will take meaningful action accordingly.

Over the past months we have watched an escalating crisis across the Middle East, one that has spiralled out of control. Over 27,000 Palestinian civilians have been murdered in Gaza (UNICEF; 2024) with increases in escalations in the West Bank by the Israeli military. The situation is past the point of crisis, with the Israeli state having committed numerous war crimes which international legal experts have argued amounts to genocide. Further, the plausibility of genocide was recognised by the International Court of Justice in its ruling on 26th January. The level of destruction and slaughter has reached a level that is truly apocalyptic, with the humanitarian situation deteriorating by the day, massacre succeeding massacre, both in Gaza and the West Bank. Even if a ceasefire happens, the system of permanent violence and oppression through which Israel rules Palestinians, in which the silence of academia plays a crucial role, will continue.

Some courageous Israeli citizens and academics have spoken out about the injustice of their state’s actions but have experienced repression. Those individuals and institutions supporting the ongoing war are, however, being met with approval by significant sectors of social and political relevance. This includes institutions of higher education and is of particular concern to us in consideration of the ongoing ties that Trinity College has with such institutions, as documented by Trinity News here. We share the student community’s abhorrence that these ties are maintained despite Israeli actions in Gaza. These relationships help maintain the legitimacy of the Israeli state’s actions and make our College community complicit in their crimes. The College’s refusal to engage with staff and students who have requested a review of these relationships not only denies us the right to participate in decisions that fundamentally shape College’s place in the world, but it also fails to reflect the values of open discussion, transparency and participation that are key to Trinity College and the very idea of a university.

Attacks on universities are, unfortunately, not new in Gaza, but since 7th October, all Universities in the area have been partially or completely destroyed, with Al-Isra University, the last standing university, being blown up by Israeli forces on January 18th. At least 94 academics have been killed. In her intervention before the ICJ, Irish lawyer Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh highlighted that by mid-January, a significant number of students had been killed and almost 9,000 university students had been unable to continue their studies. Amongst these are many healthcare students, critically required in the context of the overwhelming healthcare needs of the population. Driven by values of caring, justice, dignity, and humanistic engagement, some of these have died whilst trying to assist others. The targeted destruction of the Palestinian third level education system should be of particular concern to Trinity College given the renewal of a five-year Memorandum of Understanding signed in May 2023 between Trinity College Dublin’s School of Religion, Theology, and Peace Studies and Al Quds University’s Human Rights Clinic.

Cultural heritage has been subjected to similar destruction. In their most recent assessment, UNESCO have verified damage to at least 22 protected sites in Gaza over the past four months, in contravention of international law. Likewise, a preliminary report from Librarians and Archivists with Palestine have compiled evidence for Israeli forces damaging, looting, and destroying 23 libraries, archives, and museums, whilst many places of worship have also been obliterated. These losses impoverish not only the Palestinian people but the world.

Educide has other non-physical manifestations too and may be witnessed in repression of free speech for both students and academics; this, the Trinity Academia for Palestine group noted in its previous letter, has been reported on Israeli campuses. In this context, College’s refusal to engage with staff who have raised justifiable concerns is particularly worrying and runs contrary to the principles and processes of academic practice.

Trinity College Dublin is Ireland’s leading university; one which seeks to inspire people to be global citizens and global leaders. This is embodied in the Strategy 2020-25 which commits to ethical leadership in all we do. The College is directed to ‘courageously’ advance the cause of a just society. You Provost, in your speech of 6th October 2022, a year and a day before the current violence began, stated, ‘I want Trinity to be a GOOD university, where everything we do is built around respect, fairness, sustainability, democracy, diversity and other core values’. In the context of our Strategy’s commitments, a ‘good university’ is one that actively does good, particularly when oppression and injustice is happening on a scale and at a pace not witnessed in very many decades. That Trinity has reportedly no position on the conflict is, we consider, the antithesis of what the College has committed to. It is time to be that ‘Good University’ and courageously lead on our values.

We are aware that academic boycotts are serious matters, only to be undertaken in the gravest of circumstances, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine that prompted an EU-wide boycott of Russian academia, which Trinity College rightly supported. The situation in Palestine is as grave, if not worse, given the scale and speed of destruction, and Israel’s absolute disregard for human rights. The University of Galway is the first University in Ireland to make an official statement condemning Israel’s campaign of destruction in Gaza and publicly committing to practical measures such as reviewing “the university’s relationship with Israeli institutions” and to “supporting all our Israeli and Palestinian students and staff.”

In light of this, we request that Trinity College move away from its policy of silence and release a statement that engages with and is in line with the demands of staff and students. In particular, we urge the University to issue a statement that:

(1) condemns the destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure, including its educational and healthcare systems

(2) condemns the deliberate attacks against Palestinians, including academics and healthcare workers

(3) joins other institutions, including University of Galway, in their demand for an immediate ceasefire

(4) supports the safety and well-being of all individuals affected by the current conflict, students and faculty alike, within Trinity

(5) recognises the ICJ’s interim ruling of there being a “plausible case for genocide”

(6) commits to reviewing Trinity’s ties with Israeli institutions and organisations and eliminates any potential complicity in genocidal actions, support for genocide, or incitement to genocide

(7) engages with the College community, including Academia for Palestine, in keeping with the academic value of constructive discourse, recognising the vast amount of expertise by research and experience that exists within the community.

We sign below in our personal capacity as staff and postgraduates of the College, and members of Academia for Palestine. We remain optimistic of receiving your response and will welcome your engagement with this community.

Regards