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Amsterdam Centre for Middle Eastern Studies ACMES

ACMES Annual lecture 2024 cancelled

Infringement of academic freedom and silencing of debate

UPDATE: ACMES is pleased to announce that the court revoked the Schengen-wide ban of Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah. ACMES thanks the Deans of our respective faculties, Marieke de Goede of the Faculty of Humanities and Agneta Fischer of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences for their continued commitment to academic debate. Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah will not be able to arrange his travels in time for our scheduled lecture on Thursday but ACMES will host Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah in the near future.
Date
16 May 2024
Time
17:00 -18:30

The 2024 ACMES Annual Lecture was scheduled to take place on Thursday the 16th of May with Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah as the keynote speaker. Ghassan Abu-Sittah is the rector of Glasgow University and a renowned associate professor who combines academic analysis with continued medical practice in conflict settings. Given his academic expertise and his recent experience as a medical practitioner in Gaza during the ongoing military attack by Israel, this lecture would be a valuable addition to critical discussion about healthcare in conflict situations.

On the 9th of May, however, the Netherlands decided to uphold the Schengen-wide travel ban imposed earlier by Germany and denied entry to Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah. Germany or the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not provide a reason, explanation or any argumentation for this far-reaching ban. 

ACMES condemns this blatant political interference with academic debate and emphasises that this is not a one off incident or practical decision. Instead, it is political infringement upon academic freedom and silencing of academic debate.

In the Netherlands academic freedom and freedom to protest have consistently been curtailed when it comes to speaking out against the atrocities committed by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank. This recent ban of Dr. Abu-Sittah is the latest expression of it.

ACMES joins both Deans of our respective faculties, Marieke de Goede of the Faculty of Humanities and Agneta Fischer of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, in their appeal to the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Mrs. Bruins Slot to reconsider the ban of Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah.

Download the appeal (PDF)

Open and free academic debate remains the backbone of our university and should be protected in the Netherlands by academics and politicians alike. We aim to host Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah in the near future.

In the meantime we call upon our colleagues and students to join ACMES on Thursday 16 May at 13:00 at the Dominicuskerk, Spuistraat 12A, to Maya Wind's Book Tour: How Israeli Universities deny Palestinian Freedom.
More information here