Surpassing Statehood, Approximating Hope: Book Launch for Justice for Some

_{SURPASSING STATEHOOD, APPROXIMATING HOPE}

BOOK LAUNCH FOR

Noura Erakat, JUSTICE FOR SOME: LAW AND THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE (Stanford University Press, 2019)

_{TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 6:30 PM | RESEARCH 163}

G E O R G E M A S O N U N I V E R S I T Y

SPEAKERS

RICHARD FALK PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

SHERENE SEIKALY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA

SHIRA ROBINSON GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

NOURA ERAKAT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

2017 marked 100 years since the British Empire designated Palestine as a site of Jewish settlement thus setting in motion a settler-colonial project featuring native elimination. Palestinians have fervently resisted their erasure and have successfully inscribed their juridical status as a people in international law and legal instruments and established their associated right to self-determination. Despite their valiant efforts, the possibility of a Palestinian state today is obsolete. Meanwhile, the question of Palestine has steadily entered the progressive agenda in the United States and is emerging as a partisan issue in Congress for the first time since 1967. Using Noura Erakat’s new book, Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine (Stanford University Press, 2019) as a prompt and point of departure, this event will explore this strange juxtaposition between dismal conditions on the ground in Palestine alongside hopeful signs for change in the United States and what this may bode for the future.

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC | Pizza and drinks will be provided

Cosponsored by Middle East and Islamic Studies, Global Affairs, Center for Global Islamic Studies, Department of History

REVIEWS

Noura Erakat, Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine (Stanford University Press, 2019)

Link: https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=26507

"Noura Erakat's incisive exploration of the role of law in shaping the development of Israel/Palestine reveals the consistent genuflection of international legal institutions to Israel's reliance on well-established colonial practices. She also forcefully argues that the skillful use of international law as a tool of struggle can be generative of hope and possibility—for Palestine and the world. Justice for Some is precisely the book we need at this time."

— Angela Y. Davis, author of Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement

"A radical rethinking of the role of law and legal advocacy in the struggle for Palestinian rights. Noura Erakat tells how a refugee problem became a national liberation movement, and the tragic story of how initiative and momentum were squandered after Oslo. Brilliant, inspiring, coldly realistic—and hopeful."

— Duncan Kennedy, Carter Professor of General Jurisprudence Emeritus, Harvard Law School

"Without any doubt, Justice for Some is the best book on the law and politics of the Palestine/Israel struggle—sophisticated, learned, humane, and creative. Noura Erakat makes a profound contribution to our general understanding of the paradoxical role of law in the contemporary world."

— Richard Falk, Princeton University, Former UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine, author of Palestine's Horizon: Toward a Just Peace,

"Anyone wondering how and why international law has failed so miserably to curb Israeli violations in Palestine and the deleterious effect this has had on the law itself should read this book. Noura Erakat communicates...with the skill of a lawyer and the passion of an activist. Justice for Some is both enriching and inspiring."

— Raja Shehadeh, founder of Al-Haq, author of Where the Line Is Drawn: A Tale of Crossings, Friendships, and Fifty Years of Occupation in Israel-Palestine

"Through a brilliant and bracing analysis of the Palestine question and settler colonialism, Noura Erakat offers a compelling story of how the antinomies of structure and indeterminacy shaped international law and its possibilities. Justice for Some is a vital lens into movement lawyering on the international plane. At once tragic and inspiring, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in decolonization and the politics of international law."

— Vasuki Nesiah, New York University, founding member of Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL)

"Noura Erakat brings a sophisticated understanding of the role of international law over the last century in the Question of Palestine. This brilliant book will be of great interest to anyone seeking to understand why the outcome, thus far, to the disposition of the Palestine problem has not been a just one."

— Rashid Khalidi, Columbia University, author of The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: Settler-Colonial Conquest and Resistance, 1917-2017

April 22, 2019