Noting the genocide, Portuguese institute launches a research unit on Palestine
The University Institute of Lisbon (UIL) has established an Observatory for Palestine Studies (Observatório de Estudos da Palestina or OPal).
This is a screenshot of the
University Institute of Lisbon’s logo-cum-title.
An announcement to that effect was posted on the institute’s website on June 4, 2025.
OPal appears to be a join effort of UIL’s Centre for International Studies (CEI) and Centre for Research in Anthropology (CRIA). (In Portuguese, the institute is called Instituto Universitário de Lisboa—and abbreviates as Iscte.)
The launch announcement includes the following statement—which is rare for a Western academic institute given that it acknowledges the genocide that has been unfolding in Palestine for months now:
At a time when the genocide against the Palestinian people has reached unprecedented developments, OPal asserts the importance of academic rigour together with ethical responsibility. We invite researchers, students, and institutions to connect with us in this shared effort toward knowledge, justice, and accountability.
The only other Western academic institution to have openly acknowledged and opposed the ongoing genocide in Palestine is the UK-based Institute of Development Studies, which is part of the University of Sussex.
UIL’s announcement regarding OPal can be accessed on this URL:
https://cei.iscte-iul.pt/en/2025/06/iscte-launches-observatory-of-palestine-studies-opal/
This is a screenshot of the announcement of the launch of an Observatory of Palestine Studies at the University Institute of Lisbon (UIL)
posted on the latter’s website on June 4, 2025.
The launch of this observatory can be seen as yet another sign of the evolving fissures in the Western bloc regarding Israel’s drawn-out war on Palestine in the wake of Hamas’ violent incursion into Israel on October 7, 2023.