Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Gaza: Universities under attack
If there is an international ‘academic community,’ it is now that it must act in defence of our Palestinian colleagues, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and JOEL HELLEWELL
FUTURE ERASED: The Islamic University of Gaza northern gate, May 2021 - now nine of its 14 buildings lay in ruins
[Belal2795/CC]
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
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NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
A BRUTAL reminder that academics are part of society, rather than standing apart from it, is given by the fact that they are among the many casualties of both the Hamas attacks of October 7 and Israel’s continuing bombardment of Gaza.
As Nature reported earlier this week, those murdered in the Hamas attack included many students and faculty members of universities. Their deaths are a tragedy. Meanwhile, in the West Bank, university buildings have been identified as targets of Israeli bombing.
In-person teaching and research at all higher education institutions has stopped because travelling to campuses is too dangerous. Some 183 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli military forces since October 7 — their deaths are a tragedy too.
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