AAS Statement on Palestine/Gaza and Israel - April 2024

Statement from AAS Director, Richard Lee, PhD

AAS Statement on Palestine/Gaza and Israel 

By Director, Richard Lee, PhD

The views expressed in the letter are my own and do not represent the policy of the University of Minnesota.
 
I was recently asked by an undergraduate student who is an Asian American Studies minor if the Asian American Studies Program would draft a statement about the war in Palestine/Gaza and Israel. While I had endorsed and signed letters written by colleagues, including the statement written recently by RIDGS on the current student protests, I had not taken the time to write one myself as director of the Asian American Studies Program. This led me to critically reflect on what has prevented me from doing so. I was appropriately challenged to look beyond my own self-interests and to examine the issue through the lens of Asian American Studies.

As an Asian American Studies scholar, I condemn the violence and mass deaths occurring in Gaza and stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine. I also cannot defend the kidnappings and deaths of Israeli and non-Israeli civilians by Hamas on October 7, 2023 and do not condone such violent actions. The October 7th attacks, however, do not justify the horrific, brutal, and unrelenting offense of the Israeli government and military on Palestinian civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, and the Occupied Territories. The death of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians, the displacements of millions, and the mass destruction of homes and communities, including schools and hospitals, goes far beyond a reasonable self-defense by the Israeli government and instead continues the ongoing violence toward and oppression of Palestinans and the occupation of land that has been contested for centuries. 

Asian American Studies began as an academic field in the 1960s during the height of the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War, a time when student activism and political protest led scholars to re-examine and critique the ways in which imperialism, colonialism, and systemic racism have shaped U.S. society and its relationship with the rest of the world. Over the next half century, Asian American Studies scholars have interrogated, challenged, and critiqued the impact of these structural and social forces on Asian American communities, as well as the ways White supremacy has positioned Asian Americans amidst anti-Black racism. 

Notably, Asian American Studies has been greatly informed and influenced by the writings of Palestinian American scholar Edward Said and his powerful critique of Orientalism to understand the ways in which Asian Americans have been perceived and treated as the Oriental which goes by many names today (forever foreigners, model minorities, and yellow peril to name a few). By claiming Asian American as a collective and political identity, we resist being Othered and find solidarity across ethnic lines, understanding how our experiences and lives are tied together and directly shaped by centuries of imperialism, colonialism, and systemic racism. 

But it is critically important to remember that Said originally was writing about how Western imperialism portrayed the Middle East, including Palestine, as the Orient as a way to subdue and control. Rather than simply take Said’s concepts as our own, Asian Americans have an opportunity to find solidarity with Palestinians today, to resist the portrayal and treatment of Palestinian people as the Other, and to demand their humanity and their lands be restored rather than destroyed. 

It is in this spirit that I affirm the right of University of Minnesota students, staff, and faculty, as well as our alumni and local communities, to demonstrate and protest and to be in solidarity with the people of Palestine. This protest to stand up against Islamophobia and antisemitism, to end the violence in the Palestine/Israel region, and to find peaceful solutions to occupation does not occur without the voices and activism of citizens around the world. Universities play an especially critical role in educating its citizens and the world about the history, politics, and social injustices that underlie oppression, violence, and war. I call on the University of Minnesota administration and Board of Regents to critically re-evaluate its positions and take corrective action on its investments that directly and indirectly support the violent injustices now being perpetrated on Palestinians.

As director of the Asian American Studies Program, I remain committed to academic freedom and human rights and aim to amplify voices, challenge systems of oppression, and foster solidarity across borders. In the spirit of shared humanity and collective liberation, I urge our university community to come together with Palestine and the students, staff, and faculty bravely speaking truth to power.

Signed,

Richard M. Lee, PhD

Distinguished McKnight University Professor

Director, Asian American Studies Program

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