Universities in the grip of 'uncritical pro-Palestinian fervour' says Northern Ireland professor as he accuses Hamas of 'being willing to fight to the last baby'

It began on Saturday November 4, when the Irish Times published a letter supporting the BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) movement and accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing and possible genocide against Palestinian people.

That letter was organised by a group called Academics for Palestine and was signed by some 630 academics, including 20 at Queen’s and nine at the University of Ulster (the number of signatories has since expanded beyond 800).

Then on Tuesday, the paper published a rebuttal from other academics who strongly disagreed with a boycott and who criticised the first letter for not using the term “terrorists” to refer to Hamas.

That letter was signed by only 26 academics.

Asked about the difference in levels of support, one of the 26 signatories – Dr Catherine Lawless of Trinity College Dublin – told the News Letter: “Academics for Palestine is a well organised activist group that has been calling for boycott and sanctions before, so they had a list of members ready to mobilise for the letter. We have no such group.

"Our response was written over a weekend and in haste, we perhaps should have waited to accrue more signatures but we were anxious to show as soon as possible a different voice to the 600.

"Even immediately after I sent it to the Irish Times I received more emails of people wanting to sign.”

Professor Liam Kennedy is unusual in the academic sphere because he has been a vocal critic of the tone and direction of the pro-Palestine protests in Northern Ireland ever since the October 7 massacre.

Asked about whether there are many other academics who feel as he does, but are afraid of personal or professional ramifications if they speak out, he said: “There is little doubt that uncritical pro-Palestinian fervour has swept universities and other institutions of higher education, making little distinction between legitimate Palestinian rights and the murderous stance of groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.

"The lack of concern for the Israeli hostages seized by Hamas is deeply worrying.

"So also is the indifference of Hamas to the suffering of its own people. It seems to be willing to fight to the last Palestinian baby in order to advance its political and theological agenda.

"Some in the academy, while rightly critical of the discredited Israeli prime minister, Mr Netanyahu, seem unfazed by Palestinian jingoism and jihad.

"Given the prevailing atmosphere, I do fear a ‘chill’ factor in universities in relation to open discussion of the complexity and tragedy of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

"In Queen’s University I am told several Jewish students were berated by other students, as if they were somehow responsible for the conduct of the war in Gaza.

"Yesterday, a Jewish student told me that she makes a point of not wearing anything that might suggest a Jewish identity around campus.”

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• – ‘SELF-ABSORBED PROTESTORS’ –

Prof Kennedy had attended a march from Queen’s to the US Consulate last Saturday, which was called to highlight US complicity in the violence in Gaza.

Prof Kennedy bore a placard which instead called attention to Iranian collaboration with Hamas.

He described it as a “nerve-wracking” experience and said of the protest: "I got some puzzled glances from Palestinian supporters on the pavement but as the march kept moving on there wasn’t too much time for them to absorb fully the contradiction.

"Within the march itself, given the self-righteous and self-absorbed tone, including the chanting of ‘We are all Palestinians now’, it meant that few actually looked at each other’s placards. Perhaps just as well for me.”

Meanwhile the suffering in Gaza goes on.

The UN Relief and Works Agency posted the above pictures of babies at one of their shelters on Thursday saying: “Many newborn babies are calling UNRWA shelters in Gaza their first home.

“Around 4,600 displaced pregnant women and 380 newborns living in our facilities require medical attention.

"UNRWA works to provide postnatal care – but conditions at shelters are not suitable for newborns.”

According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, the death toll exceeded 10,500 on Monday.

The UN says the electricity blackout is now in its 30th day, and 18 hospitals (one third of the total) are now out of action.

Some 33 Israeli soldiers have died in fighting in Gaza.

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• – WHAT DID LETTERS TO THE IRISH TIMES SAY? –

The original November 4 letter used the word "genocide" some 13 times in relation to Israel's actions.

It began describing the Hamas incursion into Israel as involving "criminal attacks against civilians", then went on to say: "The dehumanising language and tropes widely used by Israeli leaders in reference to Palestinians echo those typically associated with genocidal incitement and intent.

"In the past three weeks, Israel’s military acts have matched those words, killing more than 9,000 Palestinians inside Gaza, including some 3,760 children (more than the annual number of children killed in the rest of the world’s armed conflicts combined)."

It concluded: "We call on all universities in Ireland to immediately sever any existing institutional partnerships or affiliations with Israeli institutions.

"Those ties should be suspended until the occupation of Palestinian territory is ended, the Palestinian rights to equality and self-determination are vindicated, and the right of Palestinian refugees to return is facilitated.

"Anything less at this point amounts to tacit support for crimes against humanity."

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The response published on October 7 criticized the original letter's authors for not describing the Hamas attacks in strong enough terms - in particular, for omitting the word "terrorism".

The October 7 letter read: "We write as academics to dissociate ourselves from our colleagues’ and friends’ call to boycott Israeli universities.

"We condemn the atrocities committed by Hamas and the ongoing bombardment of Gaza...

"We question why Israel alone, of all the regimes in the world which might be deemed to infringe human rights, is selected for this boycott, when our universities ally with China, Saudi Arabia, and indeed the United States and Britain, whose actions in the Middle East have resulted in untold deaths.

"We disagree with those who regard Israel’s current actions as genocide. Any war, and this war in particular, is a terrible outbreak of brutality that claims innocent lives.

"But not all war is genocide, certainly not this war which was started when Hamas carried out its massacre of civilians on October 7."

The letter went on to conclude: "We also oppose the boycotting of universities in Israel at a time when more dialogue is needed, not less. Universities are vital bridges for connecting critical and dissenting voices worldwide.

"There are indeed Israeli universities that have voiced clear opposition to policies of the current ultra-nationalist coalition which are aimed at curtailing human rights.

"We call on fellow academics to stand with them in their opposition and not weaken them."