We are very happy to announce that registration for the Third International Meeting for Science in Palestine is now open. We are proud to inform that this third meeting will be hosted the by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston from January 10 to January 12, 2020 and will see the participation of high-profiles figures of the caliber of George Smith, 2018 Chemistry Nobel Prize Winner, Nergis Mavalvala, MIT astrophysicists and MacArthur fellow and Mawan Awartani, Minister of Education of Palestine.

Over the past year, we have expanded and further developed the work and goals of Scientists for Palestine in collaboration with the broader scientific communities and in collaboration with Palestinian civil society. We are most excited to share these developments with you, as your input and participation is critical to the ambitious phase we are entering in the expansion of this important movement.

Please note that the weekend working groups and plenary sessions are strictly for registered participants and that registration will close December 15th, 2019, or whenever we reach capacity. Please also note that registration requires two steps:

1. Registering for the conference by paying the fee here. (basic registration is $10, sponsor options also available); and
2. Completing the registration form here

The third Palestinian Advanced Physics School ended on July 18th 2019. The school took place in Birzeit University and was attended by around 30 students from different universities across the West Bank. An additional 10 students from Gaza, who did not receive travel permits to attend the school, gathered at the physics department of the Islamic University of Gaza to participate remotely in the school, through a video link. In addition to lectures on cosmology, quantum optics, electron microscopy and string theory, there was a public lecture on the expanding universe held at the A.M. Qattan foundation. Overall, the school was a resounding success, with all participants — students, lecturers and organizers — having a great time while learning physics.

The following statement was approved at the Annual General Meeting of Scientists for Palestine on January 13th 2019:

Scientists for Palestine believes that free collaboration among nations is one of the pillars of the way the scientific community should operate. Understanding how this principle is infringed in the case of Palestine is of tantamount importance, as we attempt to explain in this document.

The primary obstacle towards strengthening science in Palestine is the ongoing Israeli  occupation of the West Bank, and the siege of the Gaza strip. The occupation infringes on:

1. The right to education of the Palestinian people: through systematic forced closure [1], raids [2], destructions and even bombing [3] of Palestinian universities, schools [4] and scientific infrastructures, Israeli forces prevent Palestinians from having the right to their own education [5], a right which is protected by Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [6]. Furthermore, there have been instances in which established academics have been held in Israeli jails with neither trial nor official charges, apparently just for criticizing these policies [7].
2. The freedom of movement: the mobility of Palestinian scientists and students is critically limited by checkpoints in the West Bank [8], which tremendously delay internal travel, an incredibly convoluted system of permits to leave Gaza [9], which makes it a de facto open air prison, and the lack of a single operating airport between the West Bank and Gaza. Modern scientific collaboration can only flourish when scientists are free to travel and are able to experience an exchange of ideas and perspectives.
3. Access to equipment and infrastructure: Israeli institutions control nearly everything that comes into Gaza and the West Bank, severely restricting what can be imported [8], as well as the granting of planning permissions in ‘Area C’ of the West Bank. This makes it almost impossible for Palestinian scientists to build experiments or the infrastructure needed for large scientific projects.

Those restrictions have a strong impact on potential collaborations between the Palestinian academic community and the international scientific community, including in particular Israel. In fact:

1. There cannot be a true and fair collaboration between Palestinians and Israelis as long as the former do not have free access to the academic and scientific resources and infrastructure that the latter have (residents of the West Bank and Gaza cannot freely travel to Israel, for instance).
2. As discussed above, the primary obstacle to Palestinian scientific progress is not a lack of friendliness, but instead those policies implemented by the Israeli government, many in open violation of international law, which repress and discriminate Palestinians.

The Palestinian academic community has largely recognized that their Israeli colleagues’ denouncement and active opposition to the occupation are important. This must be clearly understood as a joint opposition effort between partners that are unequal due to the impacts of the ongoing occupation. Such joint opposition efforts are in contrast to activities that, under the pretext of collaboration, ignore – and thereby normalize – the impact of the occupation in science. Efforts from Israeli academics and scientists of conscience recognizing the situation described in this document and condemning without reservation human right abuses against Palestinians should be encouraged.

References:

[1] University Closure History | Birzeit University.
[2] Birzeit University denounces early-morning campus raid by Israeli military (2017, 14 Dec).
Al-Quds University strongly condemns the raid by the Israeli forces of its campus (2017, 18 Dec).
[3] Israel strikes university in Gaza city, (2014, 2 Aug).
[4] EU Local statement on the dismantling of schools in the West Bank (2018, 26 Oct.).
[5] Israel’s assault on Palestinian universities is a threat to human rights and a tragedy for this generation of students (2018, 21 Oct).
[6] The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
[7] Starved of justice: Palestinians detained without trial by Israel.
[8] Nature: In the Palestinian territories, science struggles against all odds.
[9] Science in the Gaza Strip: the impact of the Israeli occupation. Video produced by Scientists for Palestine.

Scientists for Palestine had its second Annual General Meeting on Sunday, January 13th 2019, the first one since the constituent General Meeting where S4P’s constitution was approved. During this important meeting members came together to assess the actions of the organization over the last year, and to discuss the direction to take for the future year. Members also voted and passed various amendments to the S4P constitution which was thus accordingly modified, other resolutions and elected the leadership of the organization for the following year.

Our  Second International Meeting for Science in Palestine ended this Sunday at Columbia University, NY, USA.

We are tremendously grateful to everyone who took the time to participate. The weekend was an incredible success and it was beyond wonderful seeing so many people, coming from different backgrounds and sharing different skills, all working towards the same goal: developing innovative visions to support and advanced the integration of the Palestinian scientific community into the broader international community.

If you missed the meeting you can watch the recordings of the events on our Facebook page, direct links to the various sessions are available here.

Friday’s public event was streamed live, and can be seen here.

The meeting’s sessions are being streamed live on our Facebook page. The first session is here.

The second International Meeting for Science in Palestine will start soon at Columbia University, NY, USA.

The meeting starts this Friday at 5:30PM with a public event on Doing science under military occupation: the case of Palestine.

The rest of the weekend is for registered participant only, but we will try to live-stream the meeting – more information will be posted here and on our facebook page.

You see the full program here.

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The program of the Second International Meeting for Science in Palestine is now available here.

The meeting will open with a public event on Doing science under military occupation: the case of Palestine.

The meeting will continue on Saturday and Sunday with sessions for registered participants only. We will hear updates from Palestinian academics on their research along with the challenges they face to carry it out. The meeting will be a unique opportunity to connect with concerned scientists who are willing to work to help build connections with Palestine.

The Second International Meeting for Science in Palestine will open with a public event discussing the circumstances faced by Palestinian academics, and scientists in particular, and what we can do to help.

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Applications are still open for the Second International Meeting for Science in  Palestine, the event is for registered participants only.

If you would like to participate please don’t forget to fill out the application form here. The application deadline is October 30th 2018.

Scientists for Palestine is raising funds for the Second International Meeting for Science in  Palestine, and we need your support.

Most of the money collected here will go towards the essential expenses to run the meeting and in particular towards funding airfare and visa fees for our Palestinian colleagues to make it possible for them to attend the gathering. The breakdown will be as follows:

• $ 3400 will go towards reimbursing visa and travel expenses for Palestinian scientists.
• $ 1000 will go towards meals during the event and one social dinner.
• $ 600 will go towards advertisment and extra expenses.

No donation is too small, and all contributions are greatly appreciated!

From November 9th through 11th, 2018 Scientists for Palestine and many other members of the international scientific community, will gather at Columbia University in the City of New York for our Second International Meeting for Science in Palestine, a weekend-long meeting involving multiple plenary and parallel sessions.

The goal of the workshop is to reaffirm our vision and establish new and ambitious objectives for scientific collaboration between the Palestinian and the international community, transcending the limitations caused by 50 years of ongoing occupation.

International meetings for science in Palestine are essential to break the international isolation of the Palestinian academic community. Though organising high-level scientific events requires funding. To make sure that Palestinian academics are able to participate and take an active role in the event we need to face the high cost of airfares and visa fees. Unfortunately securing funding for non-standard scientific gatherings like the upcoming one at Columbia University, can be challenging. Very few universities, laboratories, or science agencies provide funding for such events.

From November 9th through 11th, 2018 Scientists for Palestine and many other members of the international scientific community, will gather at Columbia University in the City of New York for a weekend-long meeting involving multiple plenary and parallel sessions. The event is co-sponsored by the Center for Palestine Studies at Columbia University, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, Science for the People and Within our Lifetime • United for Palestine. This will be Scientists for Palestine’s second international gathering, after a similar initiative hosted earlier this year at the University of Cambridge, UK.

The event is only open for registered participants, if you would like to participate please fill out the application form. The application deadline is October 30th 2018. Up to date information will be available in the gathering’s webpage, and on the Facebook event.

Participants are expected to make their own travel and accommodation arrangements.

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Lack of funding for Palestinians pursuing their studies, both at home and abroad, is a considerable obstacle for the advancement in their careers. Opportunities for scholarship exist (gathered here) but they can be narrow in scope. We thus decided to advertise individual fundraising campaigns created directly by Palestinian students in order to support their studies here.

Scientists for Palestine is seeking a concrete support for a mentoring initiative involving Palestinian students and academics.

In keeping with S4P’s mission, we hope that many of you might be able to assist one or more Palestinian students or academics working in, undertaking a degree in, or seeking employment in your area of work. Examples of such assistance may include:

• Academic writing mentoring (i.e. help with English and technical writing) for dissertations, research manuscripts, etc.
• Review and feedback on a student application for a higher education degree or postgraduate employment.
• Review and feedback on an academic’s research manuscript, grant proposal, etc.

Indeed, S4P has every indication that such assistance is in high demand at all levels of Palestinian science, from undergraduate to senior academic, so we expect no shortage of requests.

However, we are acutely conscious that spare time is in very short supply for many of you. That is why we would tremendously value your support in this mentoring project! We seek help of scientist of conscience who could make an immediate impact on the learning experience and/or career progression of Palestinian scientists, whose full potential is clearly thwarted by the direct and indirect effects of the Israeli Occupation.

Your contribution has the potential to open up opportunities to students and colleagues with a great passion for science and remarkable determination to excel, despite their right to education being compromised on a daily basis.

Please fill out this form if are willing to help in any way.

We are pleased to announce that our website has a new section collecting important information about a wide variety of funding opportunities for Palestinian students and academics.

Scholarships & Funding Opportunities

In particular, there are now links to various scholarships for students.

We are committed to keep this section as update as possible hoping this list will keep on growing. If you know of any funding opportunity which you think could be useful but that is missing, let us know filling out our appropriate form. It only takes a couple of minutes!

We are now currently working on expanding the section to also include information about different summer schools, as well as research grants relevant for Palestinian academics.

We are collecting information on funding opportunities for Palestinian students and academics, and to develop our activities (for example to organize scientific schools in Palestine, exchange programs for Palestinian students, funding opportunities for Palestinian students to study abroad, supporting media project to talk about the impact of the Israeli Occupation on education in Palestine).

If you know of any funding opportunity that might be useful please take a moment to share it with us here.
We plan to compile some of this information to make it publicly available on our website.

Thank you!

To become a scientist in the Gaza Strip you have to overcome insurmountable difficulties, a taste is given in this amazing short video. The video was first shown at our first International Meeting for Science in Palestine at University of Cambridge.

This effort would have been impossible without the incredible collaboration of Afnan Alostaz, Mohammed Sabbah and Mohammed Zourob.