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Five Researchers Withdraw From Paris Jewish History Conference Over Gaza-Related Objections

Organizers will proceed with the Sept. 15–16 event after calling the cancellations an unprecedented boycott.

Overview

  • The Musée d'art et d'histoire du judaïsme said five French researchers recently canceled their participation and did not disclose their names.
  • The museum attributed the withdrawals to objections tied to the Gaza war and to a Hebrew University research program funding an Israeli doctoral student's attendance.
  • The institution criticized the move as conflating scholars with political actors and said it has kept the conference on the calendar but reworked the program.
  • CRIF president Yonathan Arfi urged sanctions in response to the cancellations, framing the episode as a challenge to academic freedom.
  • LICRA denounced what it called an ideological gesture that weakens research autonomy, and Culture Minister Rachida Dati condemned repeated boycotts as pretexts for explicit antisemitism.