Palestine Futures

What are possible futures for Israel/Palestine? We are inviting multiple voices to discuss possible futures after and in the midst of a violent recent history and ongoing present.

Over the past 18 months, we have witnessed unprecedented global attention for Israel/Palestine. Following Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,139 Israelis, Israel's subsequent military response has drawn increasing widespread condemnation for its disproportional nature. The total death toll in Gaza since October 2023 has been estimated by the Lancet to be 64,260 deaths as of February 2025, against the backdrop of a century-long history of violent displacement. Humanitarian organizations and legal scholars have increasingly charactered the situation in terms of apartheid, settler colonialism, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. The United Nations Human Rights report has concluded that Israel committed genocidal acts, and the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. These developments underscore the growing international concern over the devastating humanitarian impact, spurring heated debates, censorship, many protests and rising tensions worldwide.

At Utrecht University, these tensions have also made themselves felt. Students and staff have protested our university’s ties with Israeli institutions, at times barricaded themselves in university building in a desperate attempt to spur the UU into addressing what they see as our institution’s complicity in a genocide. At the same time, many Jewish staff and students feel unsafe, experiencing rising antisemitism. Many, on both sides of the isle, feel angry, ignored, unsafe, and unmoored. Caught between often incommensurable positions, our university has struggled to find its position and its voice. Protests have been forcibly ended. Debates and conversations, publicly and behind closed doors, have been difficult – and often avoided for fear of escalation.

At this event, we aim to open space for conversation about Israel/Palestine. As strategic theme ‘Institutions for Open Societies’, committed to open exchange and democratic values, we deem a free exchange between ideas – even if it is heated or painful – crucially important in our uncertain times. At this event, we cast our eyes to the future: we want to focus on exploring what are possible futures for Israel/Palestine through a panel of experts. Is there a path forward from the suffering and destruction of the present? After all, without formulating such ideas, we cannot imagine ways out of the current predicament.

While this conversation focuses on the future, it is not meant to ignore, silence, or downplay ongoing and past suffering. Emotions such as anger, grief, fear, and despair inevitably play a part in this discussion, and are welcomed in – as long as they can be expressed in a manner that respects the humanity of the other people in the room. 

This event is organised and curated by Flor Avelino (UU, Institutions for Open Societies and Copernicus Institute), Koen Frenken (UU, Innovation Studies, Copernicus Institute), Jeroen Oomen (UU, Urban Future Studies, Copernicus Institute) and Ulrike Bilgram (UU, Institutions for Open Societies).

The event is moderated by: Jeroen Oomen