By Jean Drèze 

The relentless destruction of Gaza in the last two years concerns us all, but it commands special attention from development scholars because it is the anti-thesis of development. The destruction actually goes beyond Gaza and encompasses vital institutions around the world. Human rights, international law, public sentiment, rational discourse – all are being devalued and degraded as the Gaza genocide unfolds. (We should not be afraid to call it a genocide, if we are literate enough to read the definition in the Genocide Convention.)

For almost two years now, the people of Gaza have been mercilessly displaced, bombed, starved and deprived of essential medical care. More than sixty thousand people have been killed, and many more are grievously wounded. Countless children have been shot, dismembered, burnt alive or buried under the rubble. At least two hundred journalists and more than a thousand health workers have been killed. Schools, hospitals, mosques and universities have been razed to the ground. Today, the entire population of Gaza is on the brink of famine. All this was intended, planned, announced and livestreamed.

None of these atrocities moved the world’s powerful countries to act in defence of the people of Gaza. On the contrary, many of them, led by the United States, threw their weight behind Israel, arming it to the teeth, parroting its propaganda, sharing intelligence, and suppressing protests at home. Others maintained a studied silence, or waved their hands from time to time under public pressure.

Gaza is holding a mirror to these countries, and the sight is not pretty. Where there was said to be democracy, we see governments acting against the sentiment of their citizens. Where we heard of commitment to human rights, we see support for genocide. Where we expected freedom of expression, we see truncheons and handcuffs. It is like a big striptease that reveals what was there all along.

The silver lining is an enormous surge of popular support for Palestine across the world. This surge is not just an emotional reaction to the sight of mass slaughter or starving babies. It also reflects a better understanding of the Palestinian struggle for freedom. For the first time, Palestinians from all walks of life had a chance to be widely heard and seen. Their stories naturally moved the average, compassionate world citizen.

As scholars and teachers in the field of development studies, we can support this process of enlightenment. To begin with, we can make up for the role we have played in keeping Palestine out of sight all these years. Palestine tends to be treated as an avoidable topic, even in courses or discussions on germane subjects such as nationalism, colonialism, racism, or “development” for that matter. The time has come to face the mirror, and recognise Palestine as one of the defining issues of the contemporary world. Inside and outside the classroom, universities can create far more space for education, discussion and debate on Palestine.

Better understanding, however, is not enough. It must translate into action. The first step is to join mass demonstrations and other protests as ordinary citizens. This should go without saying, except that academics are often reluctant to be seen in street protests. The fear seems to be that this might lower their dignity or credibility. Perhaps it also goes against their temperament. This is a good time to shed these hesitations.

Beyond this general engagement, there is much we can do in our specific domain of influence and action – universities and related institutions. Any institutional academic collaboration with Israel should be a no-no for now, given that most academic institutions in Israel are complicit with the Gaza genocide in one way or another. Many partial boycotts are already in place, perhaps there is a case for a global academic boycott. Utrecht University’s recent move towards a boycott of Israeli academic institutions is an important development in this regard. None of this precludes continued collaboration with individual Israeli scholars who are critical of their government.

Solidarity with student protests is another important responsibility. Major protests against the Gaza genocide have erupted on many campuses, but the attitude of university authorities has been tolerant at best and repressive at worst. In the United States, many universities have collaborated with state harassment of protesting students. Solidarity from faculty members makes a big difference. Some protest activities, like teach-ins, offer natural possibilities of collaboration between faculty and students on this issue.

We also have a special responsibility to defend whatever space remains for reasoned debate and critical enquiry. The standards of public discourse have fallen sharply in recent years. We are also discovering that freedom of expression was quite restricted in the first place, since it does not even seem to include the freedom to speak and act forcefully against an abominable genocide. Ideally, universities and other institutions of higher learning should be sites of free and reasoned debate. Unfortunately, many of them (particularly in the US) have participated in the clampdown on civil liberties instead of resisting it.

There is another reason why the academic community has a special responsibility in this situation. This community is a privileged class. Academics have carved a very cosy space for themselves in modern society, with high standards of comfort, security and freedom. They are, thus, better placed than most to stick their neck out and take some risks. But the tendency, on the contrary, is to avoid the risk of losing these privileges. Recently, an eminent professor in the UK told me that it was hard for him to say or do something about Gaza because it might make it difficult for him to visit his daughter in the United States. Really?

The main reason why we must act, however, is that academic institutions are an integral part of the “architecture of complicity” that sustains the Gaza genocide (as Anand Teltumbde, one of India’s leading scholars, aptly calls it). Universities fancy themselves as some sort of impartial ground, where scholars can study and debate with suitable detachment from the heat and dust of the real world. In fact, academic institutions are well integrated with other centres of power – governments, corporations, funding agencies, the military establishment, and so on. In the context of the Gaza genocide, their natural tendency is to “go along” with the policies of their respective governments. If we do not resist this tendency, we are part of it.

The people of Gaza have given us an immensely inspiring example of courage and solidarity. Hundreds of Palestinian journalists have risked their life, and often lost it, to report the events. Doctors and nurses continued to treat the wounded even as bombs were raining around them. Relief workers worked around the clock to provide people with a semblance of shelter and food. Ordinary civilians helped each other to pull people or bodies from under the rubble. If we can muster a fraction of their courage, much will follow.

Jean Drèze studied Mathematical Economics at the University of Essex and did his PhD at the Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi.  He has taught at the London School of Economics and the Delhi School of Economics, and is currently Visiting Professor at Ranchi University, Jharkhand. He has made wide-ranging contributions to development economics and public policy, with special reference to India. His research interests include rural development, social inequality, elementary education, child nutrition, health care, food security, employment guarantee and economic democracy. His books include Hunger and Public Action (with Amartya Sen, 1989), An Uncertain Glory: India and Its Contradictions (with Amartya Sen, 2013) and Sense and Solidarity: Jholawala Economics for Everyone (2017). Drèze is also active in various campaigns for economic and social rights in India.