PLSS: Enemization and Solidarity in Times of War

Panellists at the Seminar — *Panellists at the seminar. L-R: Professor Jeff King, Dr Julie Norman, Dr Manal Totry-Jubran, Dr Ewan Smith*

On Thursday, 19 March 2026, Dr Manal Totry-Jubran (Bar Ilan University, GCDC Visiting Academic) presented on ‘Enemization and Solidarity in Times of War: The Case of the Palestinian Citizens of Israel’. The presentation was part of the GCDC’s Public Law Seminar Series.

In the seminar, Dr Totry-Jubran examined how solidarity operates as a mechanism of exclusion in deeply divided societies. She contended that in times of crisis, expressions that are normally within the scope of protected speech (e.g., expressions of grief, prayer, and empathy) are reframed as indicators of disloyalty or security threats. In these contexts, individuals and groups are framed as internal enemies, and security initiatives and counter-terror laws are used to restrict freedom of speech and reconstruct the boundaries of citizenship. This leads to the production of ‘suspect communities’, whose members are treated as potential threats, not on the basis of individual conduct, but by virtue of their collective identity.

Focusing specifically on the treatment of the Palestinian citizens of Israel in the aftermath of 7 October 2023, Dr Totry-Jubran drew on emergency directives, protest restrictions, and enforcement data to illustrate how solidarity has been used by the state as a tool for criminalisation and enemization. She further observed that enemization extends beyond the state to include punitive responses within academic institutions and places of work, as well as shifts in public opinion towards greater support for censorship.

Ultimately, Dr Totry-Jubran concluded, these actions have had a chilling effect on political expression, affecting not only the Palestinian citizens of Israel but also members of the Jewish Israeli community when they express dissent. In this way, the dynamic moves from enemization of minority groups to the broader enemization of dissent itself. What is at stake, she suggested, is not only the treatment of minority citizens and the limiting of free speech, but more importantly the regulation of human solidarity: who is allowed to care, mourn, and speak without being cast as a threat.

Following the presentation, Dr Julie Norman (UCL Political Science) and Professor Jeff King (UCL Laws, GCDC) offered their remarks, leading into further discussions with participants at the seminar. The event was chaired by Dr Ewan Smith (UCL Laws, GCDC).