Filmed at a moment marked by a fragile ceasefire, the discussion between Revital Madar (Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies) and Caitlin Procter (Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies / Geneva Graduate Institute) questions the dominant narratives of hope and resolution, and the absence of justice that often follow such declarations.
At its centre lies a haunting question: Where is the line? Not only the physical line of a ceasefire, often invisible and shifting, but also the moral and political one, marking the point at which silence becomes complicity and justice becomes selective.
The conversation also explores how universities and scholars can support Palestinian academics, rebuild destroyed educational systems, and hold institutions accountable.
Both Revital and Caitlin have undertaken research on Israel/Palestine for over a decade, and for the last two years have been deeply involved in advocacy and activism for Gaza alongside their scholarly work.
Watch the full video on the EUI YouTube channel.
The #EUIUpFront conversation series brings together EUI scholars to discuss the most pressing topics of our time from diverse perspectives. Watch all #EUIUpFront videos on the EUI YouTube channel.
Caitlin Procter is a Part-time Professor at the Migration Policy Centre, part of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies. She also holds a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship at the Geneva Graduate Institute. She is a political anthropologist and conducts research on childhood and youth amid political violence in Palestine, Syria and Tunisia; and on the protection of irregularised migrant workers in Europe. In 2024 she was seconded to UNRWA to work on the humanitarian response in Gaza.
Revital Madar is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies. An interdisciplinary political theorist and socio-legal scholar, she studies conflict-related sexual violence and the intersection of law, sovereignty, and violence. Her MSCA project, "State Agents on Trial: Hierarchies of State Criminality in Israel and France," investigates trials of state security agents as sites of contention over the state's legitimate use of violence. Her article, "The construction of Palestinian death as an exceptional repetition in Israel," reveals how Israeli courts – prior to the current moment – have stripped Palestinian deaths of their singularity and political meaning, foreclosing justice.