In a blatant and alarming exclusion of academic and cultural efforts on Palestine, the Board of Directors of ACSA (Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture) approved a decision on February 21 to cancel the planned Fall 2025 issue of the Journal of Architectural Education, which was set to focus on Palestine. The Board claims that this decision was made to mitigate risks associated with publishing this issue. These risks, they argue, include serious threats to the personal safety of the journal’s editors, authors, and reviewers, as well as ACSA volunteers and staff. Additionally, they cite potential legal and financial risks facing the organization as a whole.
Rather than standing in solidarity with voices that are being silenced and targeted, the Board’s decision serves to further exclude and marginalize us, effectively silencing our perspectives. This move exposes ACSA’s adoption of theatrical commitments that neither align with ethical academic production nor with the fundamental values of humanity.
Like my colleagues, I had contributed to this issue with a piece titled "Muted Shifts: Spatial Justice and the Dialectics of Space in Gaza." Yet, I was dismayed to find that our work was not rejected on its academic merits, but rather due to our collective efforts to fulfill our scholarly and humanitarian duty toward Palestine.
My research explores the concept of spatial justice in Gaza and how space, human agency, and power dynamics intersect to shape lived experiences. Drawing on the theories of Lefebvre, Soja, and Foucault, the study conceptualizes Gaza as a “Coercive commons”, where resilience, adaptation, and acts of resistance generate “counter-commons” through collective practices. This framework integrates spatial analysis, social theory, and case studies to examine how spatial consciousness and human agency interact within oppressive environments. Ultimately, this work highlights how spatial practices can challenge domination, foster resilience, and inform strategies for social and spatial justice.
However, it seems that for ACSA, justice and the pursuit of it remain mere rhetorical slogans. Perhaps we are in need of a more legitimate platform—one that truly embraces our concerns and our commitment to higher human values.
Therefore, in my name and on behalf of Butterfly Trace Collective BTC, we strongly denounce and condemn this systematic exclusion of our academic and humanitarian roles in advocating for justice in Palestine. We affirm that our efforts will not cease and that our work will continue in defiance of this silencing.
Long live a free Palestine
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