Loughborough UCU

Tag: Middle East

  • War in Western Asia – Support for Members

    In light of the rapidly escalating conflict across the Western Asia (Middle East) region, LUCU extends its support to all members who may be affected. The ongoing conflict may be impacting you in various ways: work and travel safety, research and teaching collaborations, personal or family connections to the region, or the broader distress that events of this nature can bring.

    Travel in Affected Regions

    We would like to highlight the University’s guidance on the issue, which was published on internal news and sent by email on Monday 2nd March.

    However, we note the list of countries named in this guidance (Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Palestine, Qatar and the UAE, including Dubai, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria ) does not include, in addition to the above, all countries now affected: Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Turkey.

    If you are in or travelling through any of these affected regions, whether on University business or personal travel, please inform your line manager and/or School Head of Operations and keep yourself as safe as possible.

    Insurance

    We have confirmed with insurance that colleagues travelling on University business, who commenced travel prior to the conflict’s start and received prior approval for the trip, are covered by University travel insurance until their return to the UK. While the preference is for all travel to be booked through Clarity, any travel booked outside of Clarity would still be covered, provided it was approved in advance.

    If you were planning on travelling to or through these regions for University business, you are unlikely to be covered by the University’s insurance and must not travel without seeking further guidance from your Service or School and the University’s insurance team.

    Compassionate Leave

    The University’s 2-week compassionate leave policy is available for those experiencing stress and trauma connected to a protected characteristic, such as race, which includes ethnicity, nationality, and national origins. In these cases, it is expected that the time off requested will be granted; please approach your line manager in the first instance and contact LUCU if you require support accessing this leave.

    Support and Solidarity

    LUCU is here to support affected individuals through our casework team. The REACH Network and International Staff Group are additional possible sources of support. For immediate mental health support, the Education Support Partnership runs a 24/7 helpline: 08000 562 561.

    The LUCU Committee extends our solidarity and condolences to those who are anxious, suffering or grieving as a result of this devastating war, and expresses our sincere hopes for the conflict to end as soon as possible. We will continue monitoring the situation and are available to meet with members who would like to respond collectively.

    In solidarity

    LUCU Committee

  • Talk: When The World Looked Away – Palestine

    Lboro UCU will host a talk, open to all staff and students, by Ali Bilgic – Professor of International Relations and Middle East Politics at Loughborough University. The talk will take place on Tuesday 3rd March at 12-1pm on the Loughborough campus in JB021 in the Sir John Beckwith Centre for Sport (map) and online. Please contact ucu@lboro.ac.uk to register your interest in attending in person or online.

    This talk offers a concise examination of the historical, political, and legal dynamics shaping the conflict in Palestine, with particular focus on Gaza. Beginning with the ideological origins of Zionism and the waves of settler migration under British rule, it traces how settler‑colonial practices, racialisation, and land dispossession laid the foundations for ongoing structural violence Palestinians have to endure everyday. The talk also unpacks Israel’s legal framework highlighting systemic inequalities entrenched in state policy. Contemporary developments such as ICC arrest warrant applications, UN findings about the genocide in Gaza, and escalating settler violence in the West Bank illuminate the severity of present‑day conditions. The presentation also foregrounds Gaza’s environmental devastation, described as ecocide, and the humanitarian catastrophe persisting even after the ceasefire. Concluding with avenues for solidarity and cultural engagement, it challenges audiences to recognise moral responsibilities and to amplify Palestinian voices wherever they can.

  • Talk: When The World Looked Away – Palestine

    Talk: When The World Looked Away – Palestine

    Lboro UCU will host a talk, open to all staff and students, by Ali Bilgic – Professor of International Relations and Middle East Politics at Loughborough University. The talk will take place on Tuesday 3rd March at 12-1pm on the Loughborough campus in JB021 in the Sir John Beckwith Centre for Sport (map) and online. Please contact ucu@lboro.ac.uk to register your interest in attending in person or online.

    This talk offers a concise examination of the historical, political, and legal dynamics shaping the conflict in Palestine, with particular focus on Gaza. Beginning with the ideological origins of Zionism and the waves of settler migration under British rule, it traces how settler‑colonial practices, racialisation, and land dispossession laid the foundations for ongoing structural violence Palestinians have to endure everyday. The talk also unpacks Israel’s legal framework highlighting systemic inequalities entrenched in state policy. Contemporary developments such as ICC arrest warrant applications, UN findings about the genocide in Gaza, and escalating settler violence in the West Bank illuminate the severity of present‑day conditions. The presentation also foregrounds Gaza’s environmental devastation, described as ecocide, and the humanitarian catastrophe persisting even after the ceasefire. Concluding with avenues for solidarity and cultural engagement, it challenges audiences to recognise moral responsibilities and to amplify Palestinian voices wherever they can.

  • Contextualising the Conflict: A Brief History of the Middle East

    Loughborough University UCU will be hosting an open meeting on 8th July (12:30 – 13:30) focussed on contextualising the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

    In his talk entitled “Contextualising the Conflict: A Brief History of the Middle East”, Ali Bilgic, Professor in International Relations and Middle East Politics at Loughborough University, presents a potted history of the Middle East to help attendees contextualise the horrors we have witnessed for many years, but in particular since the 7th of October 2023.

    The session is open to all staff and students and will include a Q&A and discussion. Please feel free to share this invitation within the Loughborough University community.

    When: 8th July, 12:30 – 13:30

    Where: Schofield 0.01 and on Teams: Join the meeting now