UNESCO pays tribute to the memory of Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour, laureate, in recognition of his commitment to art education and his efforts to create platforms for younger generations of artists.

UNESCO

@UNESCO

 

UNESCO pays tribute to the memory of Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour, laureate of the @UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture (2019), in recognition of his commitment to art education and his efforts to create platforms for younger generations of artists. 

 

His paintings, sculptures, and writings transcended borders, finding their way into collections and hearts around the world, fostering mutual understanding and intercultural dialogue. Both an artist and a custodian of cultural memory, he leaves a legacy that will continue to inspire generations to come. https://unesco.org/en/prizes/shar

 Suleiman Mansour is among the most influential artists working in Palestine today. Over 50 years his paintings’ expression of Palestinian identity have won him international recognition. He has contributed extensively to the development of infrastructure for the fine arts locally and is a founding member of the League of Palestinian Artists. In 1994, Mansour co-founded the Al-Wasiti Art Center in East Jerusalem and served as its director from 1996 until 2003. One of the founding directors on the Board of the International Academy of Art in Palestine, he has also taught at numerous cultural institutions and universities and participated in several local and international exhibitions, and received several awards. The international jury recommended Suleiman Mansour not only in recognition of his prolific career but also for his commitment to art and art education and for the creation of platforms for younger generations of artists.   https://www.unesco.org/en/prizes/sharjah/laureates

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A tenured art therapy professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) was suspended from teaching and placed under investigation following a student’s complaint about an assigned case study that mentioned violence against Palestinians.

Savneet Talwar. Photograph: Salome Chasnoff

 

We call it the P-word’: Chicago professor suspended after assignment mentions Palestinians

School of the Art Institute of Chicago professor put under investigation after a student complained about a case study

A tenured art therapy professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) was suspended from teaching and placed under investigation following a student’s complaint about an assigned case study that mentioned violence against Palestinians.

Savneet Talwar, a faculty member with the school’s art therapy and counseling program, assigned the case study in April to a class on the cultural dimensions of therapy. The assignment asked students to develop an ethical treatment plan for a hypothetical queer, Muslim woman living in the US.

The language of the assignment read: “While she was not particularly politically active in her home country, protests in support of Palestine resonated with her on a personal level. She felt deeply affected by the violence against Palestinian civilians and was critical of the home government’s limited response.”

The two-page assignment, which was reviewed by the Guardian, mostly focused on other elements of the client’s case, including her family history, relationships and status as an immigrant. It made no additional references to Palestine or Palestinians, and no mention of Israel. But Talwar’s department had already been mired in multiple complaints and investigations about alleged antisemitism involving the same student, and faculty had been required to take anti-bias training as the school sought to address the “climate” in the department.

The school was also sued in late 2023 by an Israeli student in the same program over alleged antisemitism, including an assignment for which students were asked to review images drawn by children depicting violence by Israeli soldiers against Palestinian civilians.

After Talwar’s student received the case study, the professor got a call from a dean asking whether she had assigned “anything with Palestine in it”. She was then called into an “urgent” meeting with the school’s provost, and her class for the following day was canceled. The following day, on 17 April, the school formally notified Talwar that she was being put on paid leave, and forbade her from speaking about the matter with students and colleagues... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/05/professor-suspended-assignment-mentions-palestinians

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NPR: Despite a ceasefire, Israel has demolished villages in southern Lebanon

Hussein Allawiyya in Maroun el Ras, Lebanon, on Sept. 26. He is a retired teacher who lost his home after the February ceasefire. Diego Ibarra Sánchez for NPR

November 3, 20255:00 AM ET

By   Jane Arraf ,    Jawad Rizkallah

HULA, Lebanon — Israel's war with the militant group Hezbollah officially ended with a ceasefire last November. But Israel has continued since then to demolish hundreds of homes and critical civilian infrastructure in what residents see as an effort to not just prevent their return but erase their history.

In the village of Hula in southern Lebanon, a monument engraved with the names of almost 100 Lebanese killed here in 1948 just after the creation of the state of Israel lies covered in graffiti and smashed to pieces. While Lebanon is made up of a variety of religious groups, the majority in the south is Shia Muslim.

The black spray paint scrawled next to a Star of David bears the message in Hebrew "the only good Shia is a dead Shia."

Retired school teacher Abdul Aziz Chreim doesn't know what the Hebrew writing says, but says he knows the aim.

"The Israelis took over this entire village after the ceasefire and they wanted to make the point that 'we are here,' " he says. "They wanted vengeance."

The Israeli military, in response to an NPR query about the destruction, said it had reviewed the desecration of the monument and reinforced unspecified procedures to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

The graves included civilians killed in what became known as the Hula massacre, with two Israeli army officers tried in Israel for war crimes.

Chreim, 74, finds the names of his grandmother and grandfather among the broken pieces of marble before heading to the ruins of his home.

"This is my past that has been wiped out," he says. "My present has been wiped out. My future is lost..." ... READ MORE  https://www.npr.org/2025/11/03/nx-s1-5566124/israel-south-lebanon-villages

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Jewish Voice for Peace: Israeli settlers invaded Umm al-Kheir [West Bank] with a bulldozer to destroy what little remains of the Palestinian village. As Awda and his family tried to defend their homes and land, a settler opened fire—both aiming directly and shooting indiscriminately. Awda was shot in the chest and later died from his injuries..... This is not a clash or a conflict — it is colonial violence. It is ethnic cleansing, carried out under the protection of the Israeli military regime. The Israeli government's strategy of settlement expansion — through settler violence, military raids, and systematic demolitions — is part of a broader project rooted in the original goals of Zionism: to claim maximum land with a minimum number of Palestinians. In Masafer Yatta, this strategy aims to complete the displacement of Palestinian communities to make way for expanding Israeli settlements.

Jewish Voice for Peace

@jvplive

 

To know Awda Hathaleen is to love him. Awda Hathaleen was an activist and a resident in Umm al-Khair, an indigenous Bedouin Palestinian community in the South Hebron Hills within the occupied West Bank. He was an English teacher and activist. Awda has always been a pillar amongst his family, his village and the wider international community of activists who had the pleasure to meet Awda. He is survived by his beloved wife Hanady, and their three young, vibrant children, who carry forward his legacy of love and strength

Activists working with Awda report that Israeli settlers invaded Umm al-Kheir with a bulldozer to destroy what little remains of the Palestinian village. As Awda and his family tried to defend their homes and land, a settler opened fire—both aiming directly and shooting indiscriminately. Awda was shot in the chest and later died from his injuries after being taken by an Israeli ambulance. His death was the result of brutal settler violence. Later, when Awda's relative Ahmad al-Hathaleen tried to block the bulldozer, the settler driving it ran him over. Ahmad is now being treated in a nearby hospital. Meanwhile, several Palestinians and international activists were detained by the Israeli army and police on false charges.

This is not a clash or a conflict — it is colonial violence. It is ethnic cleansing, carried out under the protection of the Israeli military regime. The Israeli government's strategy of settlement expansion — through settler violence, military raids, and systematic demolitions — is part of a broader project rooted in the original goals of Zionism: to claim maximum land with a minimum number of Palestinians. In Masafer Yatta, this strategy aims to complete the displacement of Palestinian communities to make way for expanding Israeli settlements.

We reject settler violence and expansion, and we recommit ourselves to the courageous, loving resistance that Awda embodied — a spirit that inspired all who had the privilege of knowing him. May Awda’s memory be a revolution.

https://x.com/jvplive/status/1949908062015541690

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Scholasticide: As the new school year begins, Palestinian students in Gaza cannot access education due to Israel’s systemic attacks on the education system

 Visualizing Palestine

@visualizingpal

 

As the new school year begins, Palestinian students in Gaza cannot access education due to Israel’s systemic attacks on the education system, known as "scholasticide."    #EndScholasticide

 "The bad: I work at a school where I witnessed and participated in the freedom of speech being quashed by a small group of vocal and powerful parents. I teach Elie Wiesel’s “Night,” Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” and George Orwell’s “1984” and guide students to connect literature to current events. Last year, it was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. This year, Israel and what continues to happen in Gaza. I asked: What qualifies as genocide? I said: Consider your tax dollars and your parents’ tax dollars and your teacher’s tax dollars that contribute to bombs falling from the sky on women and children and babies in Gaza. Not to think about that, I said, was bad." 

Adam Patric Miller: Looking at the good, the bad and the ugly of last school year 

A man wears a keffiyeh near the U.S. Capitol during a pro-Palestinian rally May 18, 2024, on the National Mall in Washington.(Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

July 19, 2024

This is the part of summer break when I check my blood pressure at the community center and find out it has dropped enough so the machine no longer recommends that I consult my doctor Immediately. I have space and time to reflect. This last school year has provided me with three things to consider: the good, the bad and the ugly.

The good: My students showed up to classes with energy; they worked to achieve, with some joy, what their teacher required of them; and, by year’s end, each demonstrated they can read and write better, whether the topic is a boating accident that almost killed a person or a graphic novel about a girl growing up during the time of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. One of my students, a boy with dark curly hair and an offbeat sense of humor, stopped by my office to say, “Hey, Mr. Miller. I just want you to know I’m sorry about what’s been happening.” That relates to the ugly but is still part of the good — he showed care for his teacher and thought about complicated events for himself.... READ MORE  https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/07/19/opinion-school-break-teaching-gaza-war/

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American Money for Schools not Israeli Apartheid ... recent protest in Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA 07-2024

 

Razia Iqbal: I teach democracy at Princeton. Student protesters are getting an education like no other- Students across the US are forging bonds in the face of brutal power structures. You might say they’ve already won

 "What’s clear in this international, student-led movement that continues to defy college and state authorities in the face of arrest and expulsion is that it has also energized many academics in support of their students. The American Iraqi novelist and scholar Sinan Antoon, an associate professor at NYU, arrested on 23 April, told me: “Make no mistake, this is a wake-up call for all citizens: the erosion of citizens’ rights, the surveillance state and the violation of academic freedom. The exceptionality of this country is being challenged. The protests are the best thing to have happened in years. I have never been prouder of my students, their morality, their decency, protesting against the killing of children.”"

‘You don’t have to agree with everything or anything they are standing for, but if you believe in democracy, surely you believe in their right to stand for it.’ Photograph: Craig Ruttle/AP

I teach democracy at Princeton. Student protesters are getting an education like no other

Razia Iqbal

 

Students across the US are forging bonds in the face of brutal power structures. You might say they’ve already won

Teaching an undergraduate class on democracy at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs this semester has felt urgent and clarifying. In the classroom, we’ve been looking at backsliding and the slow corrosion of democratic norms in so-called democratic countries. Meanwhile, what’s been happening outside the classroom in more than 120 universities around the US and the world tells us a more ominous story about democracy.

For two weeks, we focused on the United States... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/article/2024/may/04/university-protests-democracy-faculty-princeton

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Teachers for Palestine #LetsTalkAboutPalestine ... 29th April-10th May 2024

 

UN experts deeply concerned over 'scholasticide’ in Gaza 18 April 2024 “When schools are destroyed, so too are hopes and dreams.” Even UN schools sheltering forcibly displaced civilians are being bombed, including in Israeli military-designated “safe zones.” “These attacks are not isolated incidents. They present a systematic pattern of violence aimed at dismantling the very foundation of Palestinian society,” the experts said.

 

OHCHR

What are Human Rights

• Human Rights 75 Initiative
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Human rights day
• International Bill of Human Rights
• Economic, social and cultural rights

UN experts deeply concerned over 'scholasticide’ in Gaza

18 April 2024

GENEVA (18 April 2024) – UN experts* today expressed grave concern over the pattern of attacks on schools, universities, teachers, and students in the Gaza Strip, raising serious alarm over the systemic destruction of the Palestinian education system.

“With more than 80% of schools in Gaza damaged or destroyed, it may be reasonable to ask if there is an intentional effort to comprehensively destroy the Palestinian education system, an action known as ‘scholasticide’,” the experts said.

The term refers to the systemic obliteration of education through the arrest, detention or killing of teachers, students and staff, and the destruction of educational infrastructure. 

After six months of military assault, more than 5,479 students, 261 teachers and 95 university professors have been killed in Gaza, and over 7,819 students and 756 teachers have been injured – with numbers growing each day. At least 60 per cent of educational facilities, including 13 public libraries, have been damaged or destroyed and at least 625,000 students have no access to education. Another 195 heritage sites, 227 mosques and three churches have also been damaged or destroyed, including the Central Archives of Gaza, containing 150 years of history. Israa University, the last remaining university in Gaza was demolished by the Israeli military on 17 January 2024. Without safe schools, women and girls face additional risks, including gender-based violence. More than 1 million Palestinian children in Gaza are now in need of mental health and psychosocial support and will suffer the trauma of this war throughout their lives. 

“The persistent, callous attacks on educational infrastructure in Gaza have a devastating long-term impact on the fundamental rights of people to learn and freely express themselves, depriving yet another generation of Palestinians of their future,” the experts said. “Students with international scholarships are being prevented from attending university abroad,” they added. 

“When schools are destroyed, so too are hopes and dreams.” 

Even UN schools sheltering forcibly displaced civilians are being bombed, including in Israeli military-designated “safe zones.” 

“These attacks are not isolated incidents. They present a systematic pattern of violence aimed at dismantling the very foundation of Palestinian society,” the experts said. 

The experts called on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and to protect educational institutions, teachers, and students. “We remind Israel in particular of its obligations to comply with the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice on 26 January,” they said.  

The experts said they were equally appalled by the annihilation of the cultural sector in Gaza, through the destruction of libraries and cultural heritage sites. “The foundations of Palestinian society are being reduced to rubble, and their history is being erased.”

"Attacks on education cannot be tolerated. The international community must send a clear message that those who target schools and universities will be held responsible," the experts said, adding that accountability for these violations includes an obligation to finance and rebuild the education system.

"We owe it to the children of Gaza to uphold their right to education and pave the way for a more peaceful and just future."

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/04/un-experts-deeply-concerned-over-scholasticide-gaza

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THE NATION: A rank-and-file campaign inside the National Education Association is demanding the president stop “sending military funding, equipment, and intelligence to Israel.”

...Teachers Want the Largest Union in the Country to Rescind its Biden Endorsement Over Gaza

  January 22, 2024 

When Israel escalated its military operations against Gaza in October, Rahaf Othman was so distraught, she said, she “couldn’t think straight.” The 45-year-old Palestinian American, who teaches social studies at Harold L. Richards High School in Oak Lawn, Ill., recalled that she “started getting nightmares from my own experiences when I was in Palestine. I was functional at work, but barely functional. My brain was mush. I was getting traumatized every time I turned on my phone.”

“For the first month, people were asking me what we should do, but I couldn’t think, couldn’t focus.” While in this state, she said she discovered that she could lean on some of her colleagues. “Educators rallied together and created this group, Educators for Palestine. I am grateful they brought me along for the ride.”

Othman is a member of the Illinois Education Association (IEA) Local 218, which covers an area to the south of Chicago, part of the 3 million–strong National Education Association (NEA), the largest labor union in the United States. She is now part of a member effort to press the NEA to put real muscle behind supporting a cease-fire, one prong in a small-but-growing campaign within the US labor movement.

But the rank-and-file campaign goes beyond demanding an end to Israel’s military operations, which have killed at least 22,000 Palestinians, 12,000 of them children. Othman and other members want the NEA to revoke its endorsement of Joe Biden for the 2024 presidential race until the president secures a “permanent cease-fire,” stops “sending military funding, equipment, and intelligence to Israel,” and commits “to a fair due process for asylum-seekers and refugees.”... READ MORE https://www.thenation.com/article/society/nea-union-biden-endorsement-gaza/

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Fallen United Nations Aid Workers- Courtesy of UN Agency for Palestine Refugees via This Week in Palestine

 

Fallen United Nations Aid Workers

Courtesy of UN Agency for Palestine Refugees

As of November 30, 2023, at least 111 UNRWA colleagues have been killed in Gaza since the war began on October 7. More than half of them were teachers. These are not just numbers; these are our colleagues and friends. Some of them were killed in the line of duty, while others were killed at home with their families in Rafah, Khan Younis, northern Gaza, the central areas, and Gaza City. We grieve them. We remember them.

Mai, was a young UNRWA colleague in her mid-20s. She was a bright software developer with physical disabilities. She was killed in the Jabalia Refugee Camp with members of her family on November 1.

Samir was killed with his wife and his eight children in the central areas. He worked in staff safety.

Dr. Sirin was a dedicated UNRWA gynecologist. She was killed in Bureij Camp on October 11.

With a heavy heart, we publish the names of the UNRWA staffers, people with emotions and aspirations like you and me. They certainly were not just numbers.

1 Fatima Psychosocial counselor 2 Mohamed Ali Teacher 3 Mohammed Iyad Teacher 4 Iz Elden Kamal Teacher 5 Reem Ibrahim Teacher 6 Khitam Samir Teacher 7 Nisreen Admin 8 Jasser Salman Mechanical design engineer 9 Awad Guard 10 Mohammad Ahmad Guard 11 Sireen Mohammad Ob-Gyn specialist 12 Adel Driver 13 Jalal Jamil Teacher 14 Samah Admin 15 Walaa Storekeeper PLD 16 Mustafa Field engineer 17 Mohammad Said Admin 18 Mohammad Abou Admin 19 Suzan Education 20 Hani Education 21 Mahmoud Education 22 Yaser Education 23 Huda Education 24 Belal Education 25 Hind Education 26 Faisal RSSP 27 Fatma Education 28 Rewa Education 29 Amna Education 30 Tamer Education 31 Mohammed FSRM 32 Ahmed FSRM 33 Omar Ahmed FSRM 34 Mohammed FSRM 35 Ahmad Mohd Education 36 Mohammed Logistics 37 Amal Health 38 Saleh Engineer 39 Samah Education 40 Khuloud Health 41 Suzan Education 42 Mohd Ahmad Education 43 Khaled Education 44 Omar Education 45 Sahar Education 46 Fadi Education 47 Rima Education 48 Amani Education 49 Rasha Education 50 Sami FSRM 51 Abed Education 52 Nema Education 53 Suhaila Education 54 Iman Education 55 Hilen Education 56 Selah Mohammad Education 57 Majed Education 58 Ahmad Education 59 Mahfouz Education 60 Nael Education 61 Mai Education 62 Samir FSRM 63 Hala Education 64 Hani Education 65 Osama FSRM 66 Riyad Education 67 Basma Education 68 Taghreed Education 69 Manal Education 70 Asthm 71 Wesam Education 72 Raed PLD 73 Mohammed Education 74 Abdullah Education 75 Mohammad Education 76 Mai IMTD 77 Fayez RSS 78 Khalil IMTD 79 Samer Education 80 Hasan Education 81 Amal Education 82 Maysoun Education 83 Haytham Sanitation 84 Salma Education 85 Rasha Education 86 Mayson A Education 87 Sabrin Education 88 Amani Education 89 Darwish PLD 90 Hasan Education 91 Amneh Education 92 Abdalla Education 93 Mjd Education 94 Rushdy ICIP 95 Iman RSS 96 Mohammad Education 97 Mohammad A Education 98 Abla Education 99 Rabab Education 100 Karim Education 101 Amna PLD 102 Tasnim RSSP 103 Mariam Education 104 Aref ICIP 105 Iusama Education 106 Ismail Usama Education 107 Haya Education 108 Mohammed FSRM 109 Mariam Education 110 Rana Education 111 Hiba Education

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RSSP: Relief and Social Services Programme

FSRM: Field Security and Risk Management

PLD: Procurement and Logistics Division

IMTD: Information Management and Technology Department

ICIP: Infrastructure and Camp Improvement Programme

https://thisweekinpalestine.com/fallen-united-nations-aid-workers/

This Week in Palestine December 2023