You can search for courses, events, people, and anything else.
As a Law School, we recognise that we have a serious obligation to take what steps we can to create an environment where our students can succeed. We understand that wellbeing is an essential part of a student’s capacity to learn effectively. There are many components to wellbeing – some of which are beyond our control. But we do have it within our control to foster a sense of belonging and community, and to deepen our understanding of the factors and events that matter to our students. We know that some issues, in Australia and overseas, have a profound effect on our students’ sense of security and optimism about the future. Specifically, we know that the Israeli state’s unprecedented bombardment of Gaza and the violence carried out against the 2.3 million Palestinian people there - has left many students feeling dispirited. Many express solidarity with the people of Palestine and a desire to gain a deeper understanding of the political, historical, and legal context surrounding the current crisis.
The Palestine Project brings together academics interested in the connection between pedagogy and current events in Palestine to explore ways in which we can support our students – and one another – in understanding and responding to current issues of global injustice, in the classroom and beyond. The genesis of the Project, which began in late 2023, was Israel’s cataclysmic assault on Gaza, following the atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel on October 7. To understand the actions ordered by the Israeli government, we believe it is essential to consider the ongoing siege of Gaza, the 75 year-long occupation leading to the mass expulsion and displacement of Palestinians from their homeland, and the 2024 interim ruling of the International Court of Justice. This ruling deems it plausible that the Israeli state’s actions in Gaza could amount to genocide under the Genocide Convention. The Court ordered Israel to halt and prevent genocidal actions in order to protect ‘the very existence of the Palestinian people’ in Gaza. The consequences of these events have been felt on University campuses and classrooms around the world. Issues that matter deeply to us here at Western: social impact, global justice, anti-racism, academic freedom; concern for our students’ wellbeing and sense of belonging; how we navigate the terrain of history and contemporary injustice in legal education; are all at stake.
We will be providing resources on current issues in Palestine that affect our students, and links to events hosted by the Law School and other institutions.
Resources
Welcome to The Palestine Project: An Introductory Reading List
Many of our students have expressed an eagerness to learn more about Palestine, so as a means to support our students we have compiled a set of readings that we consider key foundational texts on the topic. These readings aim to help students gain a better understanding of the historical, political and legal context, as well as the human rights implications surrounding the Palestine question.
Events
Date: 28 February 2024
Time: 12.30pm-2.30pm AEDT
Palestine has emerged as a symbol of global justice and accountability. The ongoing and unprecedented atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza have deeply affected our students, staff and the WSU community. To address this impact, the School of Law held a Muslim mentoring session in late November 2023 to provide support to affected law students. This seminar, prompted by valuable student feedback, aims to explore the implications of this crisis for legal educators and academics. Specifically, it focuses on strategies for discussing Palestine in the classroom as a matter of pedagogical practice and student engagement and well-being.
Speakers:
Dr Lana Tatour
Dr Lana Tatour is a Lecturer in Development at the School of Social Sciences, UNSW Sydney. She works on settler colonialism, indigeneity, race, citizenship, human rights and the Middle East with a focus on Palestine and Israel. Prior to joining the School of Social Sciences, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Palestine Studies at Columbia University and held visiting fellowships at the Palestinian-American Research Center, the Australian Human Rights Centre, UNSW Faculty of Law and UNSW School of Social Sciences. She is on the board of The Australian Journal of Human Rights. She is currently working on her manuscript Ambivalent Resistance: Palestinians in Israel and the Liberal Politics of Settler Colonialism and Human Rights, and on an edited volume together with Dr Ronit Lentin on Race and the Question of Palestine.
Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah
Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah is a Future Fellow in the Department of Sociology at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. Her research areas cover Palestine, Islamophobia, race, the war on terror, and social movement activism. Dr Abdel-Fattah is also a Palestine liberation advocate, a former litigation lawyer and the multi-award-winning author of 12 books published in over 20 countries and translated into over 15 languages. She has been awarded and shortlisted for all of Australia's major literary prizes. She is a regular contributor to The New Arab.
Date: 17 April 2024
Time: Light refreshments @ 5:30pm, Seminar @ 6pm-7:30pm
Location: Conference Room 2, Level 9 Parramatta City Campus, Western Sydney University, 169 Macquarie Street, Parramatta
Join us for a panel to discuss the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the findings and implications of South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel.
Hosted by the School of Law, Western Sydney University.
Chair: Dr Souheir Edelbi, Lecturer School of Law and Project Co-Convenor School of Law Palestine Project.
Panel Members:
- Jennifer Tierney, Executive Director MSF Australia
- Rawan Arraf, Execuritve Director and Prinicpal Lawyer ACIJ
- Ottilia Maundanidze, Head of Special Projects at The Insitiute for Security Studies.
More Information
For more information, please contact the Interim Dean of the School of Law, Catherine Renshaw c.renshaw@westernsydney.edu.au; and the Project Conveners, Dr Maria Bhatti m.bhatti@westernsydney.edu.au and Dr Souheir Edelbi s.edelbi@westernsydney.edu.au
