Challenging Israel's Apartheid

1-3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Mightier than the Sword? Assessing the Human Rights Challenge to Israel’s Apartheid: Few human rights situations around the world are as well-documented as Israel’s abuses against Palestinians. Thousands of articles and books have been penned by established journalists and academics, hundreds of hard-hitting reports issued by respected Palestinian, Israeli, and international human rights organizations, scores of cases filed in courts and dozens of resolutions passed by the UN. And yet, 75 years after Israel’s founding and the Nakba and 56 years after Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza began, Israel’s repression of Palestinians has not only continued but in many respects intensified. This course uses the case study of Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians to evaluate the role of human rights work in situations of protracted conflict and in challenging systematic repression. The course will examine different ways that activists have attempted to improve the situation on the ground, including human rights litigation, fact-finding, policy advocacy, campaigning and narratijavascript:;ve formation, and evaluate their efficacy in the context of Israel’s prolonged occupation and repression of Palestinians. Restrictions: Campus - FQ