Nominees for the BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom (2025-2028)

Elian Weizman

Elian Weizman, Senior Lecturer in International Relations at London South Bank University. I am keen to contribute to the important work of the BRISMES committee on academic freedom. I have been following the essential interventions of the committee over the past 20 months, defending the right to speak out as academics, students and members of our communities.

I believe that my experience in Palestine solidarity activism, both at SOAS during my time as a PhD candidate and later as a member of staff and more recently at London South Bank University can contribute to the work of the committee. I am accordingly experienced in navigating institutional constraints to carve out a space for discussion, learning and engagement in academic work that challenges institutional boundaries. I would also be drawing on my recent research experience on the silencing, delegitimation and criminalisation of political activism at large, and specifically of Palestine solidarity activism in the UK since October 2023. Additionally, my experience of seven years (2017-2022) as a committee member of the Council for British Research in the Levant, out of which two years as the secretary of the organisation enhances my understanding of some of the constraints and limitations that charities (learned societies) face in the UK, as well as strategies to mitigate and push back against those.