The BRISMES Committee on #AcademicFreedom condemns the Israeli attack on the Lebanese University on 12 March 2026, which resulted in the killing of two senior faculty members: Professor Hussein Bazi and Professor Mortada Srour. Read our statement: shorturl.at/mTG6a 1/2

We seek expressions of interest from groups, departments and/or organisations throughout the UK to host the BRISMES annual #conference in late June or early July of 2027 or 2028. Read more: bit.ly/BRISMES2027-... #CallForHosts #UKUniversities #AcademicCommunity

There’s still time to submit an abstract for this year’s SARN UK Conference 🙌 Conference Themes: Syria in Transition: Knowledge, Memory, and the Everyday Aftermath” 🕛📆 Abstracts are due by 23:59 BST on 17 May 2026 ✨For more details and to apply, please go to: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

#AcademicFreedom | BRISMES CAF has written to the UK Home Secretary to express concern regarding the reported introduction of an “emergency brake” on student visas for applicants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan (1/3). Read our letter: tinyurl.com/3dtzt236%F0%...

📢The deadline for applications to join us as the next Editor of the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies (BJMES) has been extended! 🗓️New deadline: 17:00 on 15 April 2026 More info: bit.ly/bjmes #AcademicPublishing #Editor #Journal #MiddleEastStudies

📚#Research by BRISMES Members | Edited by Dina Matar and Venetia Porter, Archiving #Gaza in the Present brings together voices from #Palestine and beyond to document the cultural erasure and to explore how creative and archival practices resist it. Learn more: saqibooks.com/books/saqi/a...

For those in London (the UK one!). Palestine and the World: Struggle and Solidarity Come and hear the wonderful and insightful Steven Salaita talk at Queen Mary University of London on Wednesday 8th April, 5.45-7.45pm. More details and registration here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/palestine-...

#AcademicFreedom | We have written to @erc.europa.eu to express deep concern regarding complaints levelled against Dr Harry Pettit, and public suggestions that an ERC grant should be withdrawn based on his lawful political beliefs and public expression. Read our letter: bit.ly/4sp7r51 1/2

BRISMES endorses this joint appeal marking 15 years since the arrest of Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace. We reiterate our call for his immediate and unconditional release, and for the protection of #academicfreedom and human rights. #FreeAlSingace

The British Society for Middle Eastern Studies Council of Trustees condemns the current United States–Israel military aggression against #iran as an illegal war that threatens regional and international peace. Read the statement in full: bit.ly/brismes-18032026

Join us online tomorrow (12 March) for "Between a Rock and a Hard Place: A Roundtable on War, Repression, Iran and International Solidarity" with academics and activists offering their reflections on what international solidarity looks like today. Register to attend: shorturl.at/wzYy6

BRISMES Council & Committee on #AcademicFreedom have written to @westyorkspolice.bsky.social to express serious concerns regarding the recent arrest of a #Palestine #solidarity protester for chanting slogans including the phrase “globalise the intifada”. Read our letter: bit.ly/4sWAaxZ 1/2

📚#Research by BRISMES Members | "Academic Freedom Challenged: Comparing France, Germany and the UK" Check out this article by Donatella della Porta and Sevgi Doğan, which addresses different mechanisms of repression of #academicfreedom. 👇

The #CallforPapers for the German Middle East Studies Association (DAVO) Congress 2026 is open! Highlights include a conference keynote by Prof Abdel Razzaq Takriti and a featured panel on #AcademicFreedom and #MiddleEastStudies. 🗓️22 March 2026 ➡️ davo1.de/en/en-call-f...

📣 CFP: SARN UK Conference 2026 📣 📆 When: 17-18 September 2026 📍Where: @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org 🎭Theme: Syria in Transition (more details👇) 💻Submit abstract here: forms.gle/CYxwrgtDs9RH... 📅Submission deadline: 17 May 2026 🖼️Artwork by Issam Kourbaj

#events | BRISMES invites you to its next webinar “Between a Rock and a Hard Place: A Roundtable on War, Repression, #Iran and International Solidarity.” 🗓️ 12 March | 15:00 | Online Fee and open to all but registration essential: shorturl.at/wzYy6

#AcademicFreedom | Read this article by Harriet Williamson @novaramedia.com: "@openuniversity.bsky.social U-Turns on ‘Ancient Palestine’ Ban" 👇

#BRISMES2026 | We are deeply grateful to Gaza-based artist Osama Hussein for the official illustration of this year’s conference, "War, Empire and Sabotage in an Age of Genocide." Check out Osama’s work here: instagram.com/os.hussen/ #AcademicConference #MiddleEastStudies #GazaArtists

As BRISMES has also stressed, a concerning case at the @openuniversity.bsky.social highlights the growing impact of political pressure on #academicfreedom, teaching, and scholarship on Palestine–Israel. Important article by @owenjones.bsky.social 👇 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

BRISMES is featured in @thenewarab.bsky.social following our recent letter raising serious concerns about the @openuniversity.bsky.social's decision to remove the term “ancient Palestine” from teaching materials. #Academicfreedom and scholarly integrity must be upheld.

#AcademicFreedom | We have written to The @openuniversity.bsky.social to express our profound concern about the university’s response to a letter from the UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) regarding the use of the term ‘#ancientPalestine’. Read our letter: bit.ly/4r0j68L 1/3

🚨 Job opportunity! Join BRISMES as a part-time Conference Assistant for our 2026 Annual Conference at @soasuni.bsky.social. 🗓 Deadline: 15 March 2026 👉 brismes.ac.uk/news/job-opp... #JobsInAcademia #PhDjobs

🚨 Register now for our #BISA2026 public lecture with Ilan Pappe 🚨 ‘Gaza as an epicentre - the breakdown of the international order’ - all are welcome to attend 🌍 Space is limited so don't miss out! 👉 https://ow.ly/qhIf50Y4lfY Simon Rushton @julietdryden.bsky.social VisitBrighton Juanita Elias

@bordercrossings.bsky.social presents a new interactive performance 3-8 March. Created with Syrian refugee women & featuring live debate, it reimagines The Suppliants — Aeschylus’ 2,500-year-old play, to explore asylum and democracy today. bordercrossings.org.uk/whats-on/programme/suppliants-syria

Curious about #MENA #Archives and their colonial & anticolonial legacies? 📽️ Watch the recording of the BRISMES webinar "What’s in an Archive?", organised by our Outreach & Pedagogy Committee:

#MENA #Events | Teach-in on the current situation of universities in #Rojava and the possibilities for academic solidarity, organized by DAVO-CAF. 📆 Wednesday, February 11 ⏰ 20:00 Rojava | 18:00 (CET) | 12:00 (EST) Register 👉 shorturl.at/PXZZR

🚨 BRISMES supports this call to action 🚨 🗓️ 17 March The govt plans to give police new powers that could effectively ban repeat protests. Alongside many civil society groups, we urge MPs to oppose this attack on fundamental rights. 🔗 Register: palestinecampaign.eaction.org.uk/March2026Lobby

📢BRISMES is seeking nominations for a new President who will provide academic and strategic leadership to the Society, ensuring that it continues to thrive as a sustainable, inclusive and forward-looking community for #MiddleEastStudies in the UK and beyond. 👉www.brismes.ac.uk/news/president

Starting now! 👇

📚#Research by BRISMES Members | The Piruzai of Afghanistan In the 1970s, Nancy Lindisfarne-Tapper & Richard Tapper lived with the Piruzai. Their book shares 380+ photos capturing the people, landscapes, and life of northern #Afghanistan. Read more: shorturl.at/3GbL4

📚@scholarsatrisk.bsky.social and @amnesty.org have launched a free, online course exploring #academicfreedom, how it connects to #humanrights and #highereducation values and why it matters for scholars, students, and society. 👇More info below

#AcademicFreedom | @cnn.com has published its coverage of the #UsamaGhanem case at KCL, including comments from Lewis Turner, BRISMES co-vice president and chair of BRISMES CAF, on academic freedom and #freedomofexpression. Worth a read 👇 edition.cnn.com/2026/01/23/e... #HigherEducation

BRISMES has written to the Metropolitan Police and the Greater Manchester Police expressing our serious concern regarding recent arrests of #Palestine #solidarity protesters for holding placards or chanting slogans that include the phrase “Globalise the intifada". Read our letter: bit.ly/49WU0RP

The CAFs of the German Middle Eastern Association (DAVO) & @brismes.bsky.social condemn Israel’s military assault on Birzeit University and call on the international community to pressure Israel to end its systematic targeting of Palestinian universities. ➡️ davo1.de/wp-content/u...

📢We are pleased to announce that submissions are open for the 2026 BRISMES #EarlyCareer Development Scholarship! Two awards of £3,000 each are available. 🗓Deadline: 20 March 2026 🔗www.brismes.ac.uk/awards/ecds #EarlyCareerResearchers #ECR #awards #funding #MiddleEastStudies #postdoc

The core problem for the international order is twofold: 1. Persistent armed attacks and violence against students and universities 2. A broad lack of engagement and integrity in Western academia

A @brismes.bsky.social online webinar on “What’s in an Archive? The Colonial and Anticolonial Afterlives of MENA Archives” - 27 January 2026 For more information and to register: www.brismes.ac.uk/events/outre... #MMARe #MSCA #HistoryOfArchaeology Shared for reference; opinions not my own.

Join us for the launch of our new report: Palestinian Education Still Under Attack: Restoration, Recovery, Rights and Responsibilities in and through Education Register here to join in person or online: https://palestinianeducation.eventbrite.co.uk/

#eventreminder | BRISMES warmly invites you to its next event “What’s in an #Archive? The Colonial and Anticolonial Afterlives of MENA Archives.” 🗓️ 27 January | 15:30 | Online 🗂️ Exploring #MENA collections, archival ethics and archive research. More info and registration: bit.ly/OP_Archives

Joined statement by the @brismes.bsky.social and DAVO committees on #academicfreedom on the IDFs attack on Birzeit University Campus calling for condemnation of the ongoing attacks and destruction of Palestinian higher education institutions by the international academic community.

The #AcademicFreedom Committees of BRISMES and the German Middle East Studies Association (DAVO) strongly condemn the Israeli military attack on #Birzeit University on 6 January 2026. Read our statement in full: bit.ly/Birzeit_200126

📢 #CallForApplications | BRISMES invites nominations for two elected positions on our Communications Committee - help shape our social media, website & newsletter and promote #MENA studies. 🕔 Submit by Sunday, 18 January, at 5PM (GMT) More info: bit.ly/BRISMESComms

Grateful to @brismes.bsky.social for this letter, calling out the harmful path @qmul.bsky.social management has taken in policing posters on staff's office doors.

📢 Submissions are still open for #BRISMES2026 and the deadline is approaching! "#War, Empire and Sabotage in an Age of #Genocide" 📅 23–25 June 2026 @soasuni.bsky.social 👉 #CallForPapers: bit.ly/BRISMES2026 Submit by next Sunday 18 Jan! #MiddleEastStudies #AcademicConference

📢 #CallForApplications | The British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies (BJMES) is seeking applications for a new Editor. The successful candidate will lead the journal’s next phase and oversee its editorial direction. Apply by 30 Mar 2026 #EditorRole #MiddleEastStudies

#AcademicFreedom | BRISMES stands with civil society in defending the right to protest and freedom of expression—fundamental for both democracy and academic freedom 👇 www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

#AcademicFreedom | Honoured that BRISMES and BRISMES CAF are cited in the new article “Academic freedom challenged: Comparing France, Germany and the UK” by Donatella della Porta & Sevgi Doğan. Check it out here: sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

#AcademicFreedom | BRISMES CAF has written to @qmul.bsky.social regarding recent instructions to remove materials described as “pro-Palestine,” “anti-Israel”, or otherwise ‘personal political opinions’ from office doors and campus spaces at the university. Read our letter: bit.ly/49cfHhy 1/4

#OnlineEvent | BRISMES warmly invites you to its next event “What’s in an Archive? The Colonial and Anticolonial Afterlives of MENA Archives.” 🗓️ 27 January | 15:30 | Online 🗂️ Exploring MENA collections, archival ethics & archive research. More info and registration: bit.ly/OP_Archives

BRISMES invites nominations for two elected positions on our Communications Committee - help shape our social media, website & newsletter and promote MENA studies. 🕔 Deadline: 5PM (GMT), 18 Jan 2026 More info: www.brismes.ac.uk/news/call-fo... #BRISMES #MENA #AcademicCommunity