Professor Matthew Champion, the Australian academic who won the Dan David Prize earlier this month, rejected calls from dozens of academics to boycott the prize due to its links to Israel.
More than 100 academics, including activist Randa Abdel-Fattah and National Museum chair Clare Wright, signed an open letter calling on University of Melbourne associate Professor Matthew Champion to rescind his acceptance of the largest history prize in the world, The Australian reported.
The open letter reportedly said that keeping the award would contribute to "the ongoing normalization of the genocide and scholasticide in Palestine." Scholasticide is a term coined by Palestinian scholar Karma Nabulsi in 2009, meaning the systematic destruction of a society's education system.
Champion was one of nine scholars awarded the 300,000 USD prize this year for his research into how medieval societies experienced, perceived and structured time.
The prize was founded by Dan David, a survivor of Nazi and Communist persecution in Romania.
On the Dan David Foundation's website, it explains that "he was persecuted for his Zionism and arrested by the Communist regime. Years later, his contribution would be recognized by the Israeli government with the 'Lochamei Hamedina' medal, awarded to those who fought for the establishment of the state."
Champion's colleagues signed an open letter condemning the prize
Champion was the first academic from the University of Melbourne to win the prize, which the university's Faculty of Arts dean called "the highest possible recognition for scholars studying the human past."
His success was not celebrated by all of his fellow academics, as more than 30 of his colleagues and over 100 Australian academics condemned his acceptance of the prize, which they accused of "normalizing the colonial occupation of Palestine, and Israel's apartheid regime, "The Australian reported.
In the letter, the academics claimed that the Dan David Foundation had made "minimal" statements about that war in Gaza, and had failed to describe the conflict as a "genocide" when calling for an immediate end to the war.
In the foundation's statement, they expressed "growing concern and alarm" about the war, and said civilian lives must be protected.
The open letter claimed that "the foundation’s focus on history and archaeology serves a key part of the Israeli and Zionist project of attempting to rewrite, and write over, the story of Palestinian land."
University of Melbourne's response to the letter
Interim vice-chancellor of the University of Melbourne, Glyn Davis, publicly rebuked the letter, saying that the university would celebrate Champion's recognition.
Davis said he was "disappointed some would petition Associate Professor Champion to reject this award,” The Australian reported.
“We are steadfast in our ongoing support for Associate Professor Champion, his scholarly work and this outstanding international recognition.”
According to The Australian, Champion is thought to have received scores of messages since the academics published their call for him to rescind his acceptance of the prize.
Chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Alex Ryvchin, said the letter was an example of anti-Israel activists "propagating the double lie that Israel’s defense of its people and territory was criminal and that every Israeli institution and citizen was a knowing tool of its government."
“This is as preposterous as claiming that the academics who signed this boycott petition are complicit in the policies and decisions of the Australian government,” he said.
He added that “the aim of this petition and the decades-old anti-Israel boycott campaign is to create permanent separation between Jewish-Israelis and all other people. This ensures that Israelis can never be seen as individuals endowed with opinions and humanity and are instead defined by those intent on eradicating their identities and their country,” according to reports from The Australian.