Press release from the Presidency - Situation in the Middle East

At a time when France and several other States have recognized the State of Palestine and are calling with one voice for an urgent resolution of the Middle East conflict, we join the many voices condemning the intensification of military operations by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip and calling for an end to the fighting and the release of the hostages held by Hamas. We reaffirm our deep compassion for all the victims of this conflict. In this context, which has also seen the near-total destruction of Gaza's academic and research institutions, we call on our authorities to help higher education establishments fully assume their mission of international solidarity.

Inalco, in keeping with its long tradition of welcoming teachers and students fleeing armed conflict, has offered admission to several students from the Gaza Strip and is in contact with teacher-researchers also wishing to pursue the exercise of their profession in our country. However, the suspension of evacuations means that we are unable to fulfill this commitment. What's more, the means to welcome them and support their integration into the French academic system are not up to the challenges and messages of solidarity expressed at political level.

We therefore reiterate the appeal we made back in June 2024 to our authorities and supervisors, via our Board of Directors:

• we ask that the resources of the PAUSE program for the reception of teachers and researchers in exile be increased and that the national authorities facilitate the granting of visas to enable our colleagues who are victims of the war to leave the country quickly and integrate as serenely as possible into their host universities;
• we call for the implementation of a national program for the reception and integration of students, enabling psychological and human follow-up, which takes full account of their traumatic journey.

The terrible violence we have witnessed since the start of this conflict, and the sense of powerlessness we feel, must not distract us from what lies at the heart of our mission: the analysis of the regions we study, their context, their history, favoring a scientific approach independent of any external pressure and instrumentalization.

Faithful to our fundamental principles and aware of the tensions that are manifesting themselves within other higher education establishments, we wish to solemnly reaffirm that the gravity of the situation in the Middle East cannot legitimize any form of identity assignment, stigmatization or discrimination based on community or religious affiliation, or on real or supposed opinions. We remain firmly committed to this position, which is the only effective bulwark against any escalation of violence, intolerance and obscurantism. Consequently, we will not tolerate any manifestation of racism, anti-Semitism or discrimination against any community whatsoever within our establishment.

Finally, we would like to pay special tribute to the commitment of colleagues and students who work to enable Inalco to remain a place of welcome, intelligent reflection, decompartmentalization and mutual understanding.