scholasticide

The terms are used interchangeably, covering various forms of the deliberate mass destruction of educational infrastructure.{{Citation needed |reason=explanation below seems to say that "epistemicide" is used for destruction of knowledge systems (which can be embedded throughout the culture as a whole) rather than destruction of specialized educational institutions |date=January 2025}} The suffix -cide, Latin for "killing", makes a connection with genocide.

The term scholasticide, where "schola-" is Latin for school, was first used by Karma Nabulsi in January 2009 in relation to the destruction of Palestinian educational infrastructure during the December 2008 to January 2009 Israeli war against Gaza.{{Cite web |date=2023-12-01 |title=About – Scholars Against the War on Palestine |url=https://scholarsagainstwar.org/about/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |language=en}}{{cite web | last=Vulliamy | first=Ed | title=Attacks on school in Gaza | website=the Guardian | date=2009-01-10 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/10/gaza-schools | access-date=2024-06-25|quote=This week, following the bombing of schools in Gaza, [Karma Nabulsi] says: "The systematic destruction of Palestinian education by Israel has countered that tradition since the occupation of 1967," citing "the calculated, wholesale looting of the Palestinian Research Centre in Beirut during the 1982 war and the destruction of all those manuscripts and archived history." "Now in Gaza," she says, "we see the policy more clearly than ever – this 'scholasticide'. The Israelis know nothing about who we really are, while we study and study them. But deep down they know how important education is to the Palestinian tradition and the Palestinian revolution. They cannot abide it and have to destroy it."}}

The term "educide" was first used in March 2011 by Hans-Christof von Sponeck, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, in a speech concerning Iraq at the Ghent University Conference, with the prefix referring to "education".{{cite web | last=Adriaensens | first=Dirk | title=Further Destruction Of Iraq's Higher Education: Blazing Fires, Forged Degrees And Silencer Guns By Dirk Adriaensens | website=Countercurrents | date=2011-07-04 | url=https://countercurrents.org/adriaensens021211.htm | access-date=2024-06-25}}

The term epistemicide was coined by Boaventura de Sousa Santos in 2014 and describes the destruction of knowledge systems, where episteme means knowledge.{{Cite web |last=Siddiqui |first=Rameen |date=2023-04-13 |title=Epistemicide: Intellectual Genocide and Eurocentric Modernity |url=https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2023/04/13/epistemicide-intellectual-genocide-and-eurocentric-modernity/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Modern Diplomacy |language=en-US}}, and the original at [https://unescochair-cbrsr.org/pdf/resource/Epistemologies_of_the_South.pdf Epistemologies of the South: Justice against Epistemicide]

Epistemicide can be used in light of a coloniser destroying the existing knowledge systems of the colonised, to replace them with knowledge systems controlled by the coloniser.{{Cite web |title=The Epistemicide of the Palestinians: Israel Destroys Pillars of Knowledge |url=https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/1655161 |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Institute for Palestine Studies |language=en}}

Characteristics that are often mentioned as elements of educide include, but are not necessarily limited to;

• a strategy of intentional and systematic destruction of existing education;
• situations of extreme violence (war, invasion, conflict, genocide, etc.);
• destruction of educational institutions;
• mass killings of academics and students;
• and the destruction of educational materials.{{Cite web |last=Talebi |first=Tessa |date=2024-04-18 |title=The Hidden War on Higher Education: Unmasking the 'Educide' in Gaza |url=https://pomeps.org/the-hidden-war-on-higher-education-unmasking-the-educide-in-gaza |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Project on Middle East Political Science |language=en-US}}

Scholasticide has been linked to genocide. The United Nations (UN) established what constitutes a genocide in Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Genocide is the intentional killing and destruction of a group, based on their ethnicity, nationality, race, or religion.{{Cite web |title=United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect |url=https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/genocide.shtml |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=www.un.org}}

Educide happens intentionally by an aggressor to a certain place and/or people. There are several reasons why an actor decides to commit educide. Motives for educide are for example colonisation. occupation, or annihilition of perceived threats.

When an actor wishes to impose power over a territory, this can go together with displacing or oppressing the native population and giving ruling power to the settlers or occupation forces. This process is often violent as the aggressor tries to suppress uprisings and resistance from the people living there. This suppression can happen via soft power, hard power, or both. Soft power is getting results not by coercion but by attraction, for example via payments, good affiliation, or education.{{Cite journal |last1=Köse |first1=Talha |last2=Özcan |first2=Mesut |last3=Karakoç |first3=Ekrem |date=2016 |title=A Comparative Analysis of Soft Power in the MENA Region: The Impact of Ethnic, Sectarian, and Religious Identity on Soft Power in Iraq and Egypt |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26168109 |journal=Foreign Policy Analysis |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=354–373 |jstor=26168109 |issn=1743-8586}} Education plays a crucial role, as it reproduces ideas such as norms, and values of a society; identities and nationalism; and it determines how history is taught. Consequently, it establishes an idea of who is good and who is bad. The coloniser/occupier can use education institutions to control these ideas. It does so by taking over the educational infrastructure. In this process, the original infrastructure is often overruled and/or destroyed. The absence of the original educational infrastructure leads to the colonised/occupied having to mirror and adapt to the infrastructure that is present, that of the coloniser, and is thus (partially) under its influence and control. This can happen via hard power by coercing change and destroying the existing educational infrastructure, which leads to educide.

If an actor perceives a certain group of people form a threat to the actor's stability, security, or power, it could try to weaken or destroy this group of people. In this process, the actor could perceive the educational infrastructure as a danger, since this is where knowledge is developed that serves this group of people. The actor can then decide to destroy the educational infrastructure. For an example, see the case study on Iraq below.

The destruction of the educational infrastructure of a place has long-term effects on its people. Possible impacts of educide are

1. Inaccessibility to education;
2. Educational delays and disadvantages (e.g. higher illiteracy rate);
3. Underemployment: due to the absence of education, people will not reach their potential in the education they could have achieved, or are not able to receive their diploma. This leads to the possibility of people having work that does not reach their full capabilities and satisfaction in their job.;{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbl6BH1OFRk |title=Inside Iraq – Iraq's Education System – 07 Dec 07 – Pt 4 |date=2007-12-09 |last=Al Jazeera English |access-date=2024-06-08 |via=YouTube}}
4. Linguicide: if a certain language is no longer taught, there is a chance for the death of this language because people no longer know how to write or read it, nor develop their oral skills to the full potential;
5. Brain drain: during educide, academics and students can be targeted and thus fled their country, leading to a brain drain as high educated people leave the country;
6. Ethnic cleansing and/or genocide: removing the entire educational infrastructure can lead to a loss of collective memory and knowledge reproduction, and thus contribute to ethnic cleansing and/or genocide of a people and its identity;
7. Colonisation: by removing the existing educational infrastructure and replacing it with a new one, a coloniser can control the reproduction and access to knowledge, which are instrumental in colonising a territory.

Educide is not discussed as a specific crime, such as genocide, in international law. Nevertheless, other elements in international humanitarian law (IHL) try to prevent the crimes committed during educide. IHL established for example the protection of schools and the protection of innocent civilians.{{Cite web |title=The Protection of Schools under International Humanitarian Law – Militair Rechtelijk Tijdschrift |url=https://puc.overheid.nl/mrt/doc/PUC_286172_11/ |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=puc.overheid.nl}}{{Cite web |date=2023-09-11 |title=Students, teachers and schools should always be protected in armed conflict |url=https://www.icrc.org/en/document/students-teachers-and-schools-should-always-be-protected-armed-conflict |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=International Committee of the Red Cross |language=en}}

{{For|more background information|Education in Iraq}}

The first case in which the term educide was used, was for Iraq. The claimed educide in Iraq happened through multiple episodes. Before the 1990s, Iraq's educational infrastructure was good and improving. During the 1990s, the UN imposed sanctions decreased the education's quality and accessibility, as it reduced income via trade which would end up going to the educational system. The situation worsened further during the Iraq War (2003–2011) and the war in Iraq against terrorist groups such as Daesh (2013–2017).{{sfn|Alousi|2022}}{{Cite web |title=Education Under Attack 2018 – Iraq |url=https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/gcpea/2018/en/122339 |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=Refworld |language=en}}

During the Iraq War, the US aimed for a regime change in Iraq to fight the perceived threat of terror and weapons of mass destruction as part of the "war on terror" campaign, which is described by critics as an illegitimate invasion motivated by imperialism (see also: Rationale for the Iraq War; Legitimacy of the 2003 invasion of Iraq; Opposition to the Iraq War, Protests against the Iraq War; and Legality of the Iraq War). Changing the regime, by changing the political and economic status quo, was partially done via educide. The US dismantled the educational system, replaced it with a system dependent on British and American universities, and promoted "Western values," which were criticised for being Islamophobic.{{Cite journal |last=Kabel |first=Ahmed |date=2014-10-01 |title=The Islamophobic-Neoliberal-Educational Complex |url=https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/islastudj.2.2.0058 |journal=Islamophobia Studies Journal |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=68–72 |doi=10.13169/islastudj.2.2.0058 |issn=2325-8381}} However, this led primarily to the Iraqi educational infrastructure being destroyed systematically and with the intention to do so.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYA-ab8Ptvk |title=Inside Iraq – Iraq's Education System – 07 Dec 07 – Pt 1 |date=2007-12-09 |last=Al Jazeera English |access-date=2024-06-08 |via=YouTube}} Between 2003 and 2007, school attendance dropped by almost 70%, at least 280 academics were killed, and 30% of the total number of professors, doctors, and engineers left Iraq. Iraq's educational infrastructure faced many problems due to a lack of materials, a fear of bombings and kidnappings that prevented people from going to their educational institutions, and many professors fleeing the country. Additionally, around 2007, many could not perform their professions due to missing certificates, while governmental officials sometimes missed the actual education they claimed to have.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbl6BH1OFRk |title=Inside Iraq – Iraq's Education System – 07 Dec 07 – Pt 4 |date=2007-12-09 |last=Al Jazeera English |access-date=2024-06-08 |via=YouTube}} The absence of education had a lot of impact on the Iraqi population, as more than 40% of the Iraqi people are aged 15 years or younger.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeYGR5-94m0 |title=Iraqi children struggle to remain in school |date=2011-04-14 |last=Al Jazeera English |access-date=2024-06-08 |via=YouTube}}

Between 2013 and 2017 the educational infrastructure suffered again. Due to the war against Daesh (also known as "IS", "ISIS", or "ISIL"), the Iraqi government reduced assistance to 5.2 million children. As of 2023, 770,000 children are displaced.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-25 |title=The Education Crisis in Iraq: A Call for Urgent Reforms |url=https://www.ei-ie.org/en/item/28461:the-education-crisis-in-iraq-a-call-for-urgent-reforms |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=Education International |language=en}} Between 2013 and 2017, in places under Daesh control, the curriculum was changed. Classes such as history or literature were replaced for religious teachings. The change of curriculum resulted in parents taking their children out of school to prevent indoctrination. Girls were disadvantaged in their access to education, with an adapted curriculum based on gender and having access to education only up to the age of 15. Girls dropped out due to marrying young, as this could prevent them from being forcefully married to a Daesh fighter. Moreover, from 2013 to 2017, educational institutions were attacked. Refworld reports that more than 100 attacks happened in which 300 people (students and staff) were injured. Additionally, there were targeted murders, kidnappings, and threats which harmed 60 students and more than 100 staff. Finally, the buildings of educational institutions were used for military purposes, such as Mosul University.{{Cite web |title=Education Under Attack 2018 – Iraq |url=https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/gcpea/2018/en/122339 |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=Refworld |language=en}}

The educide in Iraq, although throughout different circumstances, was intending to change the status quo by replacing the existing educational infrastructure with a new one. In both cases, it led to significantly destruction of education and access to education.

{{see also|Education in the State of Palestine|Attacks on schools during the Israeli invasion of Gaza}}

The terms "educide," "scholasticide," and "epistemicide" have been used to describe Israeli repression of and military attacks on Palestinian educational infrastructure, particularly within the Gaza Strip during the Gaza War.{{Cite web |date=2024-02-15 |title=The War on Education—in Gaza and at Home |url=https://inthesetimes.com/article/campus-wars-gaza-higher-ed-christopher-rufo |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=In These Times |language=en}}

After the 2023 October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel (for background information, see Blockade of the Gaza Strip and Gaza-Israel Conflict), Israel began an intensive bombing and military campaign into Gaza. The resulting conflict is ongoing and has resulted in multiple international legal actions against Israel and Israeli officials for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity and has resulted in a possible case of genocide in Gaza.{{Cite web |title=War on Gaza 2023: an unprecedented and devastating impact - United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia |url=http://www.unescwa.org/publications/war-gaza-unprecedented-devastating-impact |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=www.unescwa.org |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (Sou |url=https://www.icj-cij.org/case/192 |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=www.icj-cij.org}}{{Cite news |date=2024-03-26 |title=Gaza war: UN rights expert accuses Israel of acts of genocide |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68667556 |access-date=2024-06-11 |language=en-GB}}

As a result of the war on Gaza, most educational institutions have been destroyed, including 80% of all schools in Gaza.{{Cite web |date=18 April 2024 |title=UN experts deeply concerned over 'scholasticide' in Gaza |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/04/un-experts-deeply-concerned-over-scholasticide-gaza |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616093841/https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/04/un-experts-deeply-concerned-over-scholasticide-gaza |archive-date=16 June 2024 |access-date=18 June 2024 |website=OHCHR}} Critics have claimed that Israel systematically and intentionally destroyed all the universities in Gaza.{{Cite journal |last=Azzouz |first=Ammar |date=2024-03-03 |title=Erased city |journal=City |language=en |volume=28 |issue=1–2 |pages=2 |doi=10.1080/13604813.2024.2323388 |issn=1360-4813|doi-access=free |bibcode=2024City...28....1A }}{{Cite web |title=Academics have a duty to help stop the 'educide' in Gaza |url=https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20240227095745252 |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=University World News |language=en}} Some of the educational buildings were converted into military bases by Israel.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-31 |title=Gaza: Israel continues its crime of ethnic cleansing by destroying last neighbourhoods, UN shelter centres in Jabalia camp [EN/AR] - occupied Palestinian territory {{!}} ReliefWeb |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/gaza-israel-continues-its-crime-ethnic-cleansing-destroying-last-neighbourhoods-un-shelter-centres-jabalia-camp-enar |access-date=2024-06-15 |website=reliefweb.int |language=en}} In addition to the material infrastructure, Israel has targeted those connected to the educational infrastructure, such as students and academics. As of April 2024, 5,479 students, 261 teachers, and 95 university professors were killed and 7819 students and 756 teachers injured. The numbers have been increasing ever since.{{Cite web |last=Middle East Centre |title=The Palestinian University and Scholasticide |url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/middle-east-centre/events/2024/the-palestinian-university-and-scholasticide.aspx |access-date=2024-06-15 |website=London School of Economics and Political Science |language=en-GB}} According to the Ministry of Education and Higher Education of Gaza, 625,000 students could not access education as a result of the conflict.{{Cite web |last=Solaimane |first=Mohamed |date=2024-06-14 |title=First field school in Gaza includes 1,200 displaced students |url=https://www.newarab.com/features/first-field-school-gaza-includes-1200-displaced-students |access-date=2024-06-15 |website=The New Arab |language=en}} Scholars Against the War on Palestine (SAWP), a coalition of academics and scholars against the war and possible scholatide, have listed acts composing scholasticide which have occurred in Gaza.{{Cite web |date=2024-02-02 |title=Toolkit - Scholars Against the War on Palestine |url=https://scholarsagainstwar.org/toolkit/ |access-date=2024-06-15 |language=en}}

• Cultural genocide

{{reflist}}

• {{cite journal | last=Glück | first=Zoltán | title=Introduction – Anthropology and the security encounter: Toward an abolitionist anthropology in the age of permanent war | journal=American Anthropologist | date=2024-04-26 | issn=0002-7294 | doi=10.1111/aman.13977|url= https://zoltangluck.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/american-anthropologist-2024-glc3bcck-introduction-e28090-anthropology-and-the-security-encounter-toward-an-abolitionist.pdf}}
• {{cite journal | last1=Suslovic | first1=Brianna | last2=Rasmussen | first2=Cameron | last3=Kim | first3=Mimi | last4=Sarantakos | first4=Sophia | last5=Dettlaff | first5=Alan | last6=Roe | first6=Christina | last7=Guevara | first7=Vivianne | title=Speaking Against Silence: Examining Social Work's Response to Genocide | journal=Abolitionist Perspectives in Social Work | volume=2 | issue=1 | date=2024-06-17 | issn=2832-1154 | doi=10.52713/5sehsp64|url= https://apsw-ojs-uh.tdl.org/apsw/article/view/25/15| doi-access=free }}
• {{cite journal | title=Educide: The Genocide of Education. A case study on the impact of invasion, and conflict on education|first=Rula|last=Alousi |journal=The Business and Management Review | publisher=Centre for Business and Economic Research | issn=2047-2862 |url= https://cberuk.com/cdn/conference_proceedings/2022-09-16-09-29-05-AM.pdf|date=2022-08-10|volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=331–335 |doi=10.24052/BMR/V13NU02/ART-28}}
• {{cite book | last=Wind | first=Maya | title=Towers of Ivory and Steel: How Israeli Universities Deny Palestinian Freedom | publisher=Verso | year=2024 | isbn=978-1-80429-176-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ET_xEAAAQBAJ}}

• [https://scholarsagainstwar.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Scholasticide-Definition.pdf Scholasticide Definition by Scholars Against the War on Palestine]
• [https://scholarsagainstwar.org/toolkit/ Scholars Against the War on Palestine Toolkit]

Category:2000s neologisms

Category:Cultural genocide

Category:Attacks on schools

Category:Impacts of the Iraq War

Category:Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip