All universities in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed.
As of February 2024, Librarians and Archivists with Palestine has confirmed destruction of the following four libraries:
• Islamic University of Gaza Library (Gaza
City). Destroyed, 10/9/23
• Al-Israa University Library and National Museum (near Gaza City) Destroyed, 1/18/24
• Al-Quds Open University Library (Gaza
City). Damaged, first reported 12/6/23
• Jawaharlal Nehru Library, Al-Azhar
University (Gaza City). Destroyed, 10/19/23
As university libraries, libraries, archives, and museums across Gaza have been intensively damaged or destroyed by Israeli forces, it is more essential than ever to uplift the Palestinian narrative, and resist the ongoing attempts to erase, deny or misrepresent Palestinian culture and history.
"Knowledge is Israel's worst enemy.
Awareness is Israel's most hated and feared foe. That's why Israel bombs a university; it wants to kill openness and determination to refuse living under injustice and racism."
— Refaat Alareer
Resources
- Order free books.
Publishers 1804 Books, Common Notions, and Haymarket Books are offering free books to Palestinian solidarity student encampments.
Fill in the request form at linktr.ee/1804_books, or contact orders@haymarketbooks.org and solidarity@commonnotions.org. - Download free e-books.
Seven Stories Press is offering two free e-books on the recent history of student protest.
www.sevenstories.com/blogs/330-student-student-resistance-in-the-age-of-chaos-two-free-ebooks-to-fight-back.
Haymarket Books is offering free e-book downloads of three critical books on Palestine.
www.haymarketbooks.org/blogs/495-free-ebooks-for-a-free-palestine.
Verso Books is providing free access to seven e-books on Palestine, mass protests, and student rebellions. www.versobooks.com/blogs/news/in-solidarity-with-the-students.
The University of California Press is offering titles from its New Directions in Palestinian Studies for free. www.ucpress.edu/series/ndps/new-directions-in-palestinian-studies. - Print out free zines to distribute.
Check out Publishers for Palestine's compilation of freely available zines.
www.publishersforpalestine.org/2024/01/10/16-free-zines-and-more-free-reads-for-a-free-palestine/.
Find "Direct Action Zines" on protest tactics at Sprout Distro. www.sproutdistro.com/catalog/zines/direct-action/.
Get free zines on topics from Palestine to Cop City at CrimethInc. www.crimethinc.com/zines. - Read poetry.
Read and share poems and short texts by Palestinian writers, compiled by Passages Through Genocide. www.gazapassages.com.
Read ArabLit's list of Palestinian Poems with and for the Now. www.arablit.org/2023/11/15/a-gathering-palestinian-poems-with-and-for-the-now/.
Download Poems for Palestine, a free chapbook of recent poems by Palestinian poets from Publishers for Palestine.
www.publishersforpalestine.org/2024/02/13/poems-for-palestine-chapbook-launch/.
Access translations of "Things You May Find Hidden In My Ear," a poem by Gazan writer Mosab Abu Toha. www.librarianswithpalestine.org/campaigns-2/onebookcampaign/one-book-translations/. - Play archival music and radio.
Discover vintage cassettes at the Palestinian Sound Archive. www.nts.live/shows/palestinian-sound-archive.
Tune in to Radio Alhara at www.radioalhara.net and www.learningpalestine.net.
Sources
Librarians and Archivists with Palestine.
"Israeli Damage to Archives, Libraries, and Museums in Gaza, October 2023-January 2024: A Preliminary Report from Librarians and Archivists with Palestine."
www.librarianswithpalestine.org/gaza-report-2024/
Images courtesy of iSchool Students for Palestine @/ischoolstudents4palestine