SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
French scholar François Burgat speaks during an October 10, 2016 interview.
(Photo: Mediapart screen grab)
Uproar Over Detention of Prominent French Scholar for Gaza Solidarity Posts
"François Burgat is the latest target in a political campaign that aims at silencing pro-Palestinian voices in France and at equating explanation with justification, and analysis with incitement," said a petition.
Jul 10, 2024
Academic freedom defenders around the world are rallying around a renowned French political scientist and Arabist who was detained by police Tuesday after voicing "respect and appreciation" for the militant Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
François Burgat, the 75-year-old research director emeritus at the French National Center for Scientific Research, was taken into custody Tuesday morning in the southern city of Aix-en-Provence as part of an investigation into "apology for terrorism," his lawyer Rafik Chekkat said on social media.
Burgat was released after attending a hearing, during which he "responded honestly and referred to his researcher status and the books he has written" and the times "that he has spoken in the National Assembly, the Senate, and the Anti-Terrorism Court," Chekkat told the Turkish news agency Anadolu.
A petition circulating among academics and Palestine defenders asserts that "François Burgat is the latest target in a political campaign that aims at silencing pro-Palestinian voices in France and at equating explanation with justification, and analysis with incitement."
"We express our solidarity with him and with others whom the French state has tried to silence by enforcing the November 13, 2014 terrorism laws," the petition adds.
Burgat, who specializes in the Middle East and Islamophobia, declared his "infinite respect" for Hamas in a January post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"I have more respect and appreciation for the leaders of Hamas than the leaders of the state of Israel," he posted. "I don't think I am the only one, quite the opposite."
Burgat has also described Hamas' actions as "the revolt of Gazan prisoners against their Israeli jailers."
In a January 10 interview with Anadolu, Burgat said: "Although I consider my statement to be very normal, it sparked a stormy campaign against me. Not only on social media, but most of the French media has been insulting me over the past few days."
The European Jewish Organization subsequently filed a complaint against Burgat. French Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti asked prosecutors for a "firm and rapid criminal response" to Burgat's alleged "antisemitism."
The European Union, of which France is a member, officially considers Hamas a "terrorist organization," as do nations including Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, and Paraguay. The overwhelming majority of the world's nations have not designated Hamas—whose political wing has ruled Gaza since 2006 and whose military arm fights Israel—a terror group.
Last October 7, Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, leaving more than 1,100 Israelis and others dead and over 240 people kidnapped. At least some of the Israelis killed on October 7 were slain by so-called "friendly fire" and may have been targeted under a protocol known as the Hannibal Directive, which allows the Israeli military to use deadly force against its own troops to prevent them from being abducted by the enemy.
Israel retaliated for the October 7 attacks by bombarding, besieging, and invading Gaza in a campaign that's killed more than 38,200 Palestinians—mostly women and children—while wounding over 88,000 others, according to Palestinian and international agencies. At least 11,000 other Gazans are missing and believed to be buried under the rubble of hundreds of thousands of bombed-out homes and other buildings.
Israel's conduct in the war—including forced starvation that United Nations experts say has resulted in deadly famine—is the subject of an International Court of Justice genocide case. International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan is also seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, and Ismail Haniyeh.
France—a current colonial power with a history of brutally repressive rule over Arabs and others—has, like its neighbor Germany and other European nations, cracked down on expressions of solidarity with Palestine since October 7. Prominent figures in French academia, the arts, entertainment, politics, and sports have been targeted.
Former French-Senegalese professional basketball player and Olympic medalist Émilie Gomis will no longer represent France as a 2024 Olympic ambassador after she was interrogated by police earlier this year following an October social media post explaining Israeli theft of Palestinian lands and asking, "What would you do in this situation?"
"We're caught in a crushing machine," Gomis told Anadolu after her release. "We must be prepared to suffer the consequences."
Meanwhile, critics point to France's widespread Islamophobia and the near-victory of the far-right National Rally in this week's parliamentary elections as evidence of a double standard.
"François Burgat has been taken into police custody for 'apology for terrorism' while the patently Islamophobic anthropologist Bergeaud Blackler has received the Légion d'honneur," Muriam Davis, a history professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz said on social media Tuesday.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Academic freedom defenders around the world are rallying around a renowned French political scientist and Arabist who was detained by police Tuesday after voicing "respect and appreciation" for the militant Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
François Burgat, the 75-year-old research director emeritus at the French National Center for Scientific Research, was taken into custody Tuesday morning in the southern city of Aix-en-Provence as part of an investigation into "apology for terrorism," his lawyer Rafik Chekkat said on social media.
Burgat was released after attending a hearing, during which he "responded honestly and referred to his researcher status and the books he has written" and the times "that he has spoken in the National Assembly, the Senate, and the Anti-Terrorism Court," Chekkat told the Turkish news agency Anadolu.
A petition circulating among academics and Palestine defenders asserts that "François Burgat is the latest target in a political campaign that aims at silencing pro-Palestinian voices in France and at equating explanation with justification, and analysis with incitement."
"We express our solidarity with him and with others whom the French state has tried to silence by enforcing the November 13, 2014 terrorism laws," the petition adds.
Burgat, who specializes in the Middle East and Islamophobia, declared his "infinite respect" for Hamas in a January post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"I have more respect and appreciation for the leaders of Hamas than the leaders of the state of Israel," he posted. "I don't think I am the only one, quite the opposite."
Burgat has also described Hamas' actions as "the revolt of Gazan prisoners against their Israeli jailers."
In a January 10 interview with Anadolu, Burgat said: "Although I consider my statement to be very normal, it sparked a stormy campaign against me. Not only on social media, but most of the French media has been insulting me over the past few days."
The European Jewish Organization subsequently filed a complaint against Burgat. French Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti asked prosecutors for a "firm and rapid criminal response" to Burgat's alleged "antisemitism."
The European Union, of which France is a member, officially considers Hamas a "terrorist organization," as do nations including Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, and Paraguay. The overwhelming majority of the world's nations have not designated Hamas—whose political wing has ruled Gaza since 2006 and whose military arm fights Israel—a terror group.
Last October 7, Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, leaving more than 1,100 Israelis and others dead and over 240 people kidnapped. At least some of the Israelis killed on October 7 were slain by so-called "friendly fire" and may have been targeted under a protocol known as the Hannibal Directive, which allows the Israeli military to use deadly force against its own troops to prevent them from being abducted by the enemy.
Israel retaliated for the October 7 attacks by bombarding, besieging, and invading Gaza in a campaign that's killed more than 38,200 Palestinians—mostly women and children—while wounding over 88,000 others, according to Palestinian and international agencies. At least 11,000 other Gazans are missing and believed to be buried under the rubble of hundreds of thousands of bombed-out homes and other buildings.
Israel's conduct in the war—including forced starvation that United Nations experts say has resulted in deadly famine—is the subject of an International Court of Justice genocide case. International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan is also seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, and Ismail Haniyeh.
France—a current colonial power with a history of brutally repressive rule over Arabs and others—has, like its neighbor Germany and other European nations, cracked down on expressions of solidarity with Palestine since October 7. Prominent figures in French academia, the arts, entertainment, politics, and sports have been targeted.
Former French-Senegalese professional basketball player and Olympic medalist Émilie Gomis will no longer represent France as a 2024 Olympic ambassador after she was interrogated by police earlier this year following an October social media post explaining Israeli theft of Palestinian lands and asking, "What would you do in this situation?"
"We're caught in a crushing machine," Gomis told Anadolu after her release. "We must be prepared to suffer the consequences."
Meanwhile, critics point to France's widespread Islamophobia and the near-victory of the far-right National Rally in this week's parliamentary elections as evidence of a double standard.
"François Burgat has been taken into police custody for 'apology for terrorism' while the patently Islamophobic anthropologist Bergeaud Blackler has received the Légion d'honneur," Muriam Davis, a history professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz said on social media Tuesday.
Academic freedom defenders around the world are rallying around a renowned French political scientist and Arabist who was detained by police Tuesday after voicing "respect and appreciation" for the militant Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
François Burgat, the 75-year-old research director emeritus at the French National Center for Scientific Research, was taken into custody Tuesday morning in the southern city of Aix-en-Provence as part of an investigation into "apology for terrorism," his lawyer Rafik Chekkat said on social media.
Burgat was released after attending a hearing, during which he "responded honestly and referred to his researcher status and the books he has written" and the times "that he has spoken in the National Assembly, the Senate, and the Anti-Terrorism Court," Chekkat told the Turkish news agency Anadolu.
A petition circulating among academics and Palestine defenders asserts that "François Burgat is the latest target in a political campaign that aims at silencing pro-Palestinian voices in France and at equating explanation with justification, and analysis with incitement."
"We express our solidarity with him and with others whom the French state has tried to silence by enforcing the November 13, 2014 terrorism laws," the petition adds.
Burgat, who specializes in the Middle East and Islamophobia, declared his "infinite respect" for Hamas in a January post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"I have more respect and appreciation for the leaders of Hamas than the leaders of the state of Israel," he posted. "I don't think I am the only one, quite the opposite."
Burgat has also described Hamas' actions as "the revolt of Gazan prisoners against their Israeli jailers."
In a January 10 interview with Anadolu, Burgat said: "Although I consider my statement to be very normal, it sparked a stormy campaign against me. Not only on social media, but most of the French media has been insulting me over the past few days."
The European Jewish Organization subsequently filed a complaint against Burgat. French Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti asked prosecutors for a "firm and rapid criminal response" to Burgat's alleged "antisemitism."
The European Union, of which France is a member, officially considers Hamas a "terrorist organization," as do nations including Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, and Paraguay. The overwhelming majority of the world's nations have not designated Hamas—whose political wing has ruled Gaza since 2006 and whose military arm fights Israel—a terror group.
Last October 7, Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, leaving more than 1,100 Israelis and others dead and over 240 people kidnapped. At least some of the Israelis killed on October 7 were slain by so-called "friendly fire" and may have been targeted under a protocol known as the Hannibal Directive, which allows the Israeli military to use deadly force against its own troops to prevent them from being abducted by the enemy.
Israel retaliated for the October 7 attacks by bombarding, besieging, and invading Gaza in a campaign that's killed more than 38,200 Palestinians—mostly women and children—while wounding over 88,000 others, according to Palestinian and international agencies. At least 11,000 other Gazans are missing and believed to be buried under the rubble of hundreds of thousands of bombed-out homes and other buildings.
Israel's conduct in the war—including forced starvation that United Nations experts say has resulted in deadly famine—is the subject of an International Court of Justice genocide case. International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan is also seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, and Ismail Haniyeh.
France—a current colonial power with a history of brutally repressive rule over Arabs and others—has, like its neighbor Germany and other European nations, cracked down on expressions of solidarity with Palestine since October 7. Prominent figures in French academia, the arts, entertainment, politics, and sports have been targeted.
Former French-Senegalese professional basketball player and Olympic medalist Émilie Gomis will no longer represent France as a 2024 Olympic ambassador after she was interrogated by police earlier this year following an October social media post explaining Israeli theft of Palestinian lands and asking, "What would you do in this situation?"
"We're caught in a crushing machine," Gomis told Anadolu after her release. "We must be prepared to suffer the consequences."
Meanwhile, critics point to France's widespread Islamophobia and the near-victory of the far-right National Rally in this week's parliamentary elections as evidence of a double standard.
"François Burgat has been taken into police custody for 'apology for terrorism' while the patently Islamophobic anthropologist Bergeaud Blackler has received the Légion d'honneur," Muriam Davis, a history professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz said on social media Tuesday.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.