This talk will share a perspective on how the Israeli society at large, and academia in particular, have responded to the ongoing war in Gaza. Increasingly, voices from across Israeli society are calling for an immediate end to the war and to the atrocities being committed in the Gaza Strip (and the West Bank).

In this talk, Professor Ido Shahar will describe the initiatives led by the "Black Flag in Academia" action group, which seeks to mobilize resistance against the endless war, the crimes against humanity perpetrated by Israel in Gaza, and to the plans of ethnic cleansing promoted by Israeli politicians. He will also address the question of why similar calls are still relatively marginal in Israeli media and in public discourse.

Ido Shahar is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Haifa. He specializes in legal anthropology, with a focus on the legal sphere in Muslim societies. He is a member of the "Black Flag in Academia" action group, a coalition of more than 1,300 Israeli academics protesting against the war and the war crimes in Gaza.

Chair: Anders Johansen

Time and place: September 18. 2025, Café Christie at Natural History Museum Bergen