Palestine & Israel
Recent events taking place in Israel can be challenging to witness, talk about, and study. This guide serves as one entry point into the conversation, using critical information literacy as a way to understand how information about the ongoing conflict is being created, who is creating information, who is not allowed to create or disseminate information, and other political, social, economic and technological implications.
This guide takes critical stance, meaning it will center Palestinians as the oppressed group. This is not a neutral topic or stance as the evidence is borne out through the literature and history of the contested land. We are witnessing a genocide, the systematic destruction of a people, their history, and their culture in order for another to take total control of the land and its remaining inhabitants. When Israeli leader Yoav Gallant called Palestinian's "human animals" this indicated their genocidal stance.
Framing: Information Has Value
Information possesses several dimensions of value, including as a commodity, as a means of education, as a means to influence, and as a means of negotiating and understanding the world. Legal and socioeconomic interests influence information production and dissemination. - ACRL Framework for Information Literacy
In this guide we will explore the concept "information has value" and how information is being used to further support imperialist and Zionist efforts. We will identify how lack of access to basic infrastructure including electricity and Wi-Fi impacts the ability for Palestinians to tell their stories. Finally, we will look at how the murder of journalists impacts whose stories get told and whose do not.