On the censoring of Dr. Ahlam Muhtaseb

"On the censoring of Dr. Ahlam Muhtaseb." Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 17(1), pp. 3–4

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Editors’ Collective (listed alphabetically): Robin Boylorn (she/her), Brandi Lawless (she/her), Bryan J. McCann (he/him), Billie Murray (she/her), Ersula J. Ore (she/her), Mahuya Pal (she/her), Kimberlee Pérez (editor-elect, she/her), Srividya Ramasubramanian (she/her), Stacey K. Sowards (she/her), Armond Towns (he/him), and Heather M. Zoller (she/her).

2 We chose the term genocide with caution, recognizing that some differ on how this term should be used and whether or not it applies in this context. For more on this term, please see: Raz Segal, “A Textbook Case of Genocide,” Jewish Currents, October 13, 2023, accessed December 11, 2023, https://jewishcurrents.org/a-textbook-case-of-genocide; Center for Constitutional Rights, “Israel’s Unfolding Crime of Genocide of the Palestinian People & U.S. Failure to Prevent and Complicity in Genocide,” October 18, 2023, accessed December 11, 2023, https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2023/10/Israels-Unfolding-Crime_ww.pdf. This open letter by genocide and Holocaust experts calls for the prevention of genocide in Gaza and the West Bank: “Statement of Scholars in Holocaust and Genocide Studies,” December 9, 2023, accessed December 11, 2023, https://contendingmodernities.nd.edu/global-currents/statement-of-scholars-7-october/.

3 We focus here on Palestinians because of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza since October 7, 2023 and because of the censorship Dr. Muhtaseb faced at the NCA conference. While some have claimed that Palestinians have received more attention to their suffering than others in the region, the current crisis calls for such. See Hussein Aboubakr Mansour, “The Pitfalls of Palestinian Exceptionalism,” Endowment for Middle East Truth, July 8, 2021, accessed December 11, 2023, https://emetonline.org/the-pitfalls-of-palestinian-exceptionalism/.

4 Walid A. Afifi, Vinita Agarwal, Jim Cherney, Roseann Mandziuk, Jimmie Manning, Raquel Moreira, Marnel Niles Goins, Shaunak Sastry, Jeanetta Sims, Candice Thomas-Maddox, and Richard West (National Communication Association Executive Committee), “An Open Letter to the Membership of the National Communication Association from the NCA Executive Committee,” December 1, 2023.