For better knowledge

Scientific work on Israel–Palestine in Germany after October 2023

Bibliographic Data

ID22020106
AuthorsRoy Karadag (0000-0003-0447-3828, University of Bremen, corresponding author)
Year2026
Publication date2026-06-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueZeitschrift für Friedens- und Konfliktforschung (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2192-1741 • E-ISSN: 2524-6976
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s42597-026-00172-x
OpenAlexW7163054254
LanguageEN
References cited16

For a scholar employed at a German university and situated at the intersection of Middle East politics and International Relations, the Hamas attacks of October 2023 and the subsequent destruction of Gaza by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) exposed what can only be described as a scientific professionalism fallacy. By this fallacy, I refer to the purported scholarly imperative that we as academics should restrict our analysis of the Israel–Palestine conflict, and the associated dynamics of violence, war, suffering, and German policy toward Israel, to scientific activities proper. This professionalism imperative, however, became untenable in light of the collective academic silence on Gaza. It stifled the space within the scientific community that is necessary to present, share, and discuss research findings. However, such a space is a precondition for any strictly scientific work to be conceivable at all. This is particularly necessary when the autonomy of a scientific discipline is undermined by political pressure and surveillance, as is the case in Israel–Palestine-related scholarship

Health and Conflict Studies · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · The Impact of Diversity and Innovation on Society

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access