Critical Cabaret:
Abdaljawad Omar & Basil Farraj

The new year began in a deepening world disorder. Israel continued its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, adding to the suffering of Palestinian civilians already living under catastrophic conditions. At the same time, global politics slid further into instability, as imperial acts and military force once again shaped the international horizon. Days later, Israeli forces raided Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank, injuring eleven Palestinian students - five with live ammunition - while thousands were present on campus.

Against this backdrop, on 25 February, two leading Palestinian voices—Abdaljawad Omar, philosopher, and Basil Farraj, anthropologist, both professors at Birzeit University - will visit Slovenia for the first time.

Joined by Srećko Horvat at Cankarjev dom, they will discuss the current situation in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian condition and resistance, and how occupation reshapes human subjectivity, thought, and artistic expression.

An urgent conversation at the intersection of politics, philosophy, and the arts.

Abdaljawad Omar is a Palestinian writer,based in Ramallah, Palestine. He serves as an Assistant/Adjunct Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Studies at Birzeit University, where he teaches and conducts research on political theory, decolonial thought, and the intellectual history of Palestinian resistance. Omar regularly publishes essays and articles in outlets such as Mondoweiss and contributes to international discussions on colonialism, resistance, and Middle Eastern politics.

Basil Farraj is the Director of the Ibrahim Abu Lughod Institute of International Studies, and an assistant professor at the Department of Philosophy and Cultural studies, Birzeit University. Basil’s research addresses the intersections of memory, resistance, and art by prisoners and others at the receiving end of violence. Basil has conducted research in several countries including Chile, Colombia, and Palestine.

Srećko Horvat, togehter with journalist Patricija Maličev, co-curator of Critical Cabaret, philosopher and author of books such as After the Apocalypse, Poetry from the Future, The Radicality of Love, What does Europe Want? with Slavoj Žižek. His writings have appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, Newsweek, Al Jazeera, Jacobin. He is among the co-founders of DiEM25, the Progressive International and ISSA - "Škola autonomije".

CD Club, Free tickets