Call for boycott of Islamic Archeology Conference in Germany: Palestinians denounce normalization of apartheid and genocide

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) calls on speakers and participants at the Islamic Archeology Conference, scheduled at Goethe University Frankfurt from November 7-9, 2024, to withdraw. According to PACBI, this event, which brings together Israeli experts and international participants, contributes to legitimizing apartheid and violations of Palestinian rights. PACBI criticizes the conference in particular for giving a platform to members of the Israeli Antiquities Authority, accused of destroying and appropriating Palestinian and Arab heritage.

BDS movement leaders say the conference uses the presence of Palestinian and Arab speakers as a “cover-up,” allowing the “Israeli apartheid colonial regime to cover up the ongoing genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in the occupied and besieged Gaza Strip”. For BDS, this participation risks legitimizing the controversial actions of the Israeli Antiquities Authority, perceived as complicit in systematic cultural erasure in the Palestinian territories.

In denouncing this event, PACBI also criticizes the involvement of German institutions, which, according to it, are trying to divert attention from the military and financial support provided by Germany to Israel. The organization calls on the academic community and participants to disengage from the conference to avoid harming the struggle for the rights and liberation of the Palestinian people.