Sciences Po Strasbourg Director sought Details to block palestinian Researcher’s Talk
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A probe reveals the director of Sciences Po Strasbourg, Emmanuel Droit, requested intelligence on a CNRS researcher specializing in Palestine, raising concerns about academic freedom and institutional bias.
The academic landscape at Sciences Po Strasbourg is facing scrutiny following revelations that its director, Emmanuel Droit, actively sought information on Stéphanie Latte Abdallah, a researcher at the french National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), in an attempt to prevent her from speaking at the institution. The controversy underscores growing tensions surrounding discussions on Palestine within French academia and the pressures faced by scholars engaging with the topic.
Concerns Over a Postponed Conference
Stéphanie Latte Abdallah, whose research focuses on the history of Palestinian refugees, the prison system in Israel and Palestine, and new forms of citizen mobilization in Palestine, was scheduled to present on September 17th alongside Yoav Shemer, a political science doctor. Her planned talk, “social sciences facing societies at war: Gaza, West Bank,” was initially postponed for medical reasons. Though,evidence suggests that management at Sciences Po Strasbourg harbored deeper reservations about the event taking place at all.
according to an article published by Blast on November 11th,Droit expressed worry about Latte Abdallah’s upcoming appearance. On November 8th, he sent an email to the Research Network on Racism and Anti-Semitism (RRA), seeking information that coudl be used to alert
“Collège de France,” he stated. “In the context of past events which have shaken my institute, but also the disturbances to public order in Paris 8 and Sciences Po Lyon, by inquiring about the speaker, I simply wanted to try to assess whether a similar risk existed, whether it was necessary to strengthen the planned system.”
A Broader Climate of Tension
These events unfold against a backdrop of ongoing student protests at Sciences Po Strasbourg, sparked in October 2024 by a partnership with Reichman university in Israel. Students have voiced concerns about Reichman University’s ties to the Israeli military and its training programs for political and military elites. Despite attempts by management to address the concerns, the Palestine committee at the IEP continues to demand an end to the cooperation, and several faculty members have resigned from the board of directors, citing a “denial of university democracy.”
Contrasting Invitations
Sociologist Vincent Dubois noted the apparent contradiction in the institution’s approach to inviting speakers. He pointed to the invitation extended to Éric Danon, former French ambassador to Israel, to speak at a “forum for peace” on October 6th. Danon is known for a widely circulated video in which he stated he would accept duty for “50 or 60,000 deaths in Gaza if that made it possible to eradicate Hamas,” adding,”Its not easy to accept,because it’s immoral,but it’s ethical if there is a concrete result that allows us to avoid the next war.”
“On the one hand, the director is worried about inviting a well-known researcher from the CNRS, but on the other hand he invites this type of person,” Dubois observed. While Danon’s event was ultimately canceled, Latte Abdallah’s conference has been rescheduled for December 10th, according to Dubois, though this date is not currently listed on the Sciences Po Strasbourg website.
Droit maintains that the conference was never threatened with censorship, denouncing any claims of such intentions as “destabilization, exploitation and defamation.” He further stated that the institution screened the documentary No Other Land in October and will host Rachid Benzine on November 17th and Hala Abou Assira,the Palestinian ambassador to France,at a future Peace Forum.
The case raises basic questions about academic freedom, institutional bias, and the challenges of fostering open dialog on sensitive political issues within French universities.
