Panel Discussion: The Gaza Genocide as Seen from East-Central and South-Eastern Europe: Between Complicity, Silence and Solidarity
Panel discussion organised by Pavel Kolar (Konstanz) and Milica Popovic (Vienna)
In cooperation with the lecture series ‘Talking about Israel & Palestine—Interdisciplinary Approaches’ at the University of Konstanz
10.12. 2025, 15.15–19.15, digital:
https://uni-konstanz-de.zoom.us/j/68392267654?pwd=MB0upSUh37rDhNLkO7bPVMvDniPxFg.1
The panel discussion explores East-Central and South-Eastern European responses to the genocide in Gaza, considering them within their broader historical and societal contexts. We will examine the wide-ranging reactions within the region, first, in spatial terms, looking at how domestic agendas interact with global influence. In temporal terms, we will explore how current dynamics draw on the region’s long-term histories of mass violence, authoritarianism, colonialism and racism.
Contributions will focus on the following aspects, among others:
– the legacy of the pre-1989 state socialist policies towards the Middle East conflict, ranging from an official ‘anti-Zionist’ doctrine to popular pro-Palestinian support and a dissenting pro-Israel stance
– the instrumentalisation of memory cultures, particularly with regard to fascism, the Holocaust, occupation and state socialism
– the role of racism and xenophobia, including anti-Semitism, anti-Gypsyism, anti-Arabism and Islamophobia in local contexts
– the role of neoliberal populism as a driver of ethno-nationalism, welfare racism and anti-refugee attitudes in responses to the Gaza War and the Israeli occupation of Palestine
– the importance of economic dependencies, such as weapon exports, financial flows and supply chains
– the weaponisation of anti-Semitism as a tool for authoritarian crackdowns on academia, critical media and the cultural sphere
– the role of the Russo-Ukrainian War in shaping perspectives on the Gaza genocide and the Middle East conflict, particularly with regard to accusations of war crimes and genocide
– the emergence of critical and solidarity voices within local academia and social movements
Programm
15.15-17.00: Session I
Introduction by Pavel Kolář (University of Konstanz) and Milica Popović (Austrian Academy of Sciences)
Nina Paulovicova (Athabasca University): Mnemonic Regimes: Epistemic violence and the Erasure of Palestine in Post-communist Slovakia
Yasar Abu Ghosh (Charles University in Prague): Magic and Unthought: Genocide Denial and the Weaponisation of Antisemitism in Czechia
Mihai S. Rusu (Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu): All Quiet on the Eastern Flank: Silencing a See-through Genocide in Romania
17.00-17.15: Break
17.15-19.00: Session II
Monika Bobako (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań): The Politics and Epistemology of (Not) Seeing the Gaza Genocide. The Case of Poland
Francesco Trupia (Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń & CEU Democracy Institute): The Balkan Gaze on Gaza: Post-Memories and Solidarities
Barbara Rajgelj (University of Ljubljana & The Legal Network for the Protection of Democracy & Grounded Festival): The Role of Civil Society and Academia in Shaping the Pro-Palestinian Stance of Slovenian Authorities
Sanja Horvatinčić (Institute of Art History in Zagreb): Breaking silence, unveiling complicity: Initiative for Academia of Solidarity and Epistemic Justice in Croatia
Concluding Remarks and Discussion
The ‘Gaza Genocide’ as Seen from East-Central and South-Eastern Europe. Between Complicity, Silence and Solidarity, in: H-Soz-Kult, 02.12.2025, https://www.hsozkult.de/event/id/event-159000.