Newsletter - February 2026
In this newsletter:
- Meeting the board
- Call to write to the committee
- Picturing Scholasticide
- Palestine in the classroom
- Attack on Birzeit University
- Evacuation hearing
- Calendar
- Read more
Meeting the board
A delegation of Leiden Scholars for Palestine has been invited to speak with the new board. The meeting takes place on Thursday 26 February at 11:30 in Rapenburg 70. We call upon all our supporters to express solidarity and call for an immediate boycott outside of the Oude UB (bestuursbureau) between 11:15 and 12:00.
Call to write to the committee
For over two years, Israel has been carrying out a genocide in Gaza. The evidence is overwhelming and is recognised by international organisations and academic researchers alike. The genocide has not come out of nowhere. 75 years of displacement, dispossession, and dehumanisation have made it possible. Israeli universities and research organisations have played a central role in both the genocide and its antecedents. Once again, the evidence is overwhelming and supported by extensive academic research. Yet our university continues to prevaricate.
A year into its mandate, and despite this overwhelming evidence, the Leiden Committee on Human Rights and Conflict Zones has still not called for the breaking of the ties with Israeli institutions, continuing to make us collectively complicit in their crimes. Nor has the CvB taken these steps either.
We call on our supporters to write to the committee, to CC the CvB, and remind them of the urgency of the situation, the uncontrovertible nature of the evidence, and calling on them to act now. The committee can be contacted here: [email protected], CC: [email protected] .
Picturing Scholasticide
We are pleased to invite you to the launch of Picturing Scholasticide at Leiden University in the Faculty of Social Sciences (Agora, formerly Pieter de la Court) on Wednesday, 11 February, 16:00-18:00.
Picturing Scholasticide is a physical and virtual exhibition that documents and publicizes the social and legal effects of Israel's effort to destroy Palestinian institutions of higher education. The exhibition was developed and designed by staff and students at Leiden University, in partnership with Palestinian photographers and web designers in order to commemorate, build awareness, and support the rebuilding of education institutions in Gaza and across Palestine.
The launch event will feature three speakers from Gaza and the West Bank:
- Shadi Al-Tabatibi, Photographer and Member of Picturing Scholasticide
- Sundos Hammad, Coordinator of the Right to Education Campaign at Birzeit University, West Bank, Palestine
- Dr Ibrahim Rabaia, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Relations, Birzeit University, West Bank, Palestine
More information is available here: https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/events/2026/02/picturing-scholasticide-exhibition-launch.
Please share this message widely. The event is open to the public.
Palestine in the classroom
Teachers: Tell Palestinian Stories!
The merciless violence against Palestinians continues, despite the veiled rhetoric of a "ceasefire." It is a colonial policy of destruction and plunder, a policy aimed at erasing history and culture.
That is why we are organizing two meetings for secondary school teachers who want to create space for Palestinian culture and Palestinian stories in their teaching. We want to give marginalized voices a voice and actively combat dehumanization. This can be achieved by making small adjustments to existing curriculums, using examples from Palestinian literature, film, and art. We are inspired by the book "Teaching Palestine: Lessons, Stories, Voices" (2025).
On Friday, March 13, 2026, with Dr. Haneen Omari, Assistant Professor at Leiden University.She will provide a brief overview of Palestinian literature and culture and, together with the participants, read a short story or poem, discussing how to incorporate it into their own teaching practices. The language of this meeting will be English.
Wednesday, March 25, 2026, with Dr. Judith Naeff, Assistant Professor at Leiden University. The focus will be on works by Palestinian writers translated into Dutch and on the work of Palestinian/Dutch artists such as Ramsey Nasr, Stryder, and Saker Khadir. How can we incorporate these sources into our teaching? The language of this meeting will be Dutch.
The meetings are at 3:00 PM. until 5:00 PM at Leiden University. After a lecture, we will discuss how we can incorporate this into our own teaching practices.
The sessions are aimed at teachers of all languages, cultural and artistic education, visual arts, social studies, social studies, history, worldview, and philosophy.
You can register by sending an email to: [email protected]The meetings are free of charge for teachers and teacher educators.
Attack on Birzeit University
On January 6 the Israeli army invaded Birzeit University on the West Bank during a vigil for Palestinian political prisoners. Soldiers forced the campus gate and fired live ammunition and stun grenades injuring several students. It is the 25th military attack on Birzeit since 2002 and UN experts have denounced it as an attack on education itself. Just last November, the former President of this distinguished university, Beshara Doumani, presented at Leiden University.
After this new flagrant attack on higher education, Leiden Scholars for Palestine has sent another email to the Executive Board calling upon our administrators once again to publicly condemn the ‘scholasticide’ in Gaza and the attacks on education in the West Bank. The silence of our Board is unacceptable and undermines our shared values of academic freedom and human rights.
Evacuation hearing
42 Palestinians in Gaza have received a valid visa for the Netherlands for study or employment. But the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs refuses to provide consular support to enable their evacuation from the strip. On Monday 2 February there was a public hearing for three of those cases: two students and a journalist admitted to NIAS’ safe haven programme. Read more here: Buitenlandse Zaken wil evacuatie Gazanen met Nederlands visum niet ondersteunen - The Rights Forum
The judge will consider the following questions:
(1) is this a case for the ‘bestuursrechter’ or ‘civiele rechter’ (the administrative or civil judge)?
(2) was the previous case of evacuation from Gaza of Palestinians with an ‘mvv’ (‘machtiging voorlopig verblijf’, a temporary residency permit) an exception or a legal precedent?
(3) have the exceptional conditions of last Summer changed due to the ceasefire, or have the conditions factually remained the same and should this exception be extended based on the principle of equality before the law (‘gelijkheidsbeginsel’)?
(4) can we extrapolate from the Afghani interpreters arrangement that policy actions and utterances (rather than written decrees) make for legal obligation, and should the utterances of the Minister of Foreign Affairs concerning previous evacuations from Gaza (on his weblog and elsewhere) be seen as de facto policy decisions?
Verdict 16 February.
Calendar
Please note:
* The silent sit-ins in front of Rapenburg 70 have been resumed on Tuesdays 11:30-12:00.
* The noisy walkouts have resumed every first Monday of the month when the alarm sounds, in front of the Agora building (FSW).
