Dear all, For many of you reading this, the past few days on the AoIR listserv have been intense and trying. After many hours of discussion, the Executive Committee of AoIR with the extended support of the four Past Presidents, have the following to say. To start, a technical note: we have just released another batch of messages from the moderation queue. These will be the last messages on this subject in the listserv for now, as we aim to restore the conversation to a place of community rather than the disunity we have seen. Also, we have had reports of readers who identify with different sides of the conflict who have felt threatened by the discourse, and afraid to speak their minds. No scholar of the internet, and no one who has been in similar discussions in the past, will have been especially surprised at the dynamic of the discussion. The list will therefore remain pre-moderated for now, but we shall let through new messages (about the usual AoIR things) as quickly as we can. Questions about this can be addressed to prez@aoir.org. We condemn in the strongest possible terms the loss of civilian life as the result of Hamas’s attack, as well as Israel’s military operations, and we also condemn expressions of antisemitism and Islamophobia since the violence unfolded. As academics, the destruction and displacement of students, scholars and their institutions is of special concern to us. Witnessing our community members, both Israelis and Palestinians, being deprived of their academic homes is a source of profound sorrow. We acknowledge that it may take years for communities to rebuild their infrastructure and recover from the devastation. We urge you to offer assistance to your colleagues within our community and beyond. We yearn for a safe return to the lecture hall, the seminar room and the lab for everyone. We call for the guarantee of free and critical speech, and we mourn the loss of life, including those of students and colleagues working in higher education, throughout this terrible conflict. We send our solidarity to all those affected by these events, especially education staff and students. It was clear from very early on in the discussions on the listserv that there is no consensus on how to move forward. Among those who have signed this message (the exec), there are also differences of opinion, including what a potential statement should include and the procedure for reaching community agreement. This discussion has highlighted that we do not have processes in place for if and how AoIR might make statements on geopolitical issues. This is something that we have extremely rarely done, but it is something we commit to addressing at the next meeting of the Executive Committee in a few weeks. Moreover, in the coming days, we will set up a way to invite your input on shaping any future procedure. Nicholas John (President), Sarah T. Roberts (Vice President), the Executive Committee (Sam Sruay, Gabriel Pierra, Sophie Bishop, Ariadna Matamoros-Fernández, Job Mwaura, Tom Divon) Past Presidents Tama Leaver (2021-2023), Lynn Schofield Clark (2019-2021), Axel Bruns (2017-2021), Jenny Stromer-Galley (2015-2017)