The UP Asian Center will host the online roundtable “The Israel-Hamas War: Views from Southeast Asia” on 2 December 2023, Saturday, 3 PM, PST (GMT+8), via Zoom. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

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ABOUT THE EVENT

Since October, the Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu has waged fierce assaults on the people of Gaza, resulting in the loss of thousands of lives, including those of women and children. These military operations are supposedly in response to the “terrorist” activities committed by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, but they are also inextricably embedded in a history of injustice and oppression against the Palestinian people. Since 1948, the Palestinians have lost considerable territory to Israel and are living under the most challenging conditions. No less than the United Nations has called for an end to the attacks. However, there remains a seeming divide in international opinion. Western countries led by the United States, for instance, have expressed support to Israel. Meanwhile, Arab countries and other Muslim-majority countries have strongly expressed support for the Palestinian people and reiterated demands for Israel’s withdrawal from occupied Palestinian territories. Southeast Asia, although geographically removed from the Middle East, is closely intertwined with the region in economic, diplomatic and cultural terms. This webinar seeks to discuss the most recent spate of violence that has characterized the fraught history of Israel-Palestine relations and its impact on the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

          IRINE HIRASWARI GAYATRI, PH.D.
          Irine Gayatri is a Senior Researcher at the Research Centre for Politics, National Research and Innovation Agency
          (Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional or BRIN) in Indonesia. Supported by the Australia Award Scholarship, she holds a
          Ph.D. in Gender, Peace, and Security Centre from the School of Sciences, Faculty of Arts of Monash University.
          Her research interests include WPS Agenda, Norm Theory, Violent Extremism, Gender and International Relations,
          Peace, and Conflict.

          MATTHEW ROBSON, PH.D.
          Dr. Matthew Robson is Lecturer in International Relations at the School of International Affairs, Chiang Mai University
          where he has been teaching since 2021. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the Complutense University
          of Madrid and has published articles on popular geopolitics in political geography, and the ethics of counter-terrorism
          practices in critical studies on terrorism. Dr. Robson’s current research uses poststructural theories and methodologies
          to understand international security and global governance. This has focussed on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
          geographical region, with studies on the military intervention in Libya, and the Iran nuclear deal framework.

          MANSOOR LIMBA, PH.D.
          Dr. Mansoor L. Limba is Associate Professor of political science and international and Islamic studies at Ateneo de Davao
          University in Davao City, Philippines. He obtained his doctoral degree in international relations from the    University of Tehran, Iran. Apart from teaching, he translates from Persian into English and Filipino, writes, edits, and blogs and has dozens of written and translated works to his credit on international politics, history, political philosophy, Islamic finance, jurisprudence (fiqh), theology (‘ilm al-kalam), Qur’anic sciences and exegesis (tafsir), hadith, ethics and mysticism (‘irfan).

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The UP Asian Center offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. The Center offers a Ph.D. program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. For an overview of these graduate programs, click here. The Asian Center also publishes Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, the latest issue of which can be downloaded at the journal's website. For other news and upcoming events at the Asian Center, click here.