Middle East Studies Association of North America, Inc.
3542 N. Geronimo Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85705
520 333-2577 phone
520 207-3166 fax
MESA’s Committee on Academic Freedom comprises two sub-committees: MENA (Middle East and North Africa) and NA (North America). The mission of CAF is to address violations by protesting them at the highest government and diplomatic levels of the country where the violation occurs. The cases that CAF has addresses can be viewed in the list of interventions. To learn more about CAF, read the Committee's protocol.
Our letter expressing concern about the University of Guelph’s last-minute decision to cancel the second annual People’s Conference for Palestinian Solidarity which was to convene on 29 November 2025
Our letter to vehemently protest the harassment of the eminent international legal scholar and emeritus professor at Princeton University, Richard Falk by the Canadian border security agency at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on 13 November 2025 as he was on his way to participate in the “Gaza Tribunal” and Canada's Responsibility” in Ottawa, Ontario (14-15 November).
The Committee on Academic Freedom received a response from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville Chancellor in response to our letter regarding Professor Tamar Shirinian
Our letter jointly issued by BRISMES, DAVO, SeSaMO and MESA regarding the cancellation of the symposium “Palestine and Europe” organized by the Chair of Contemporary History of the Arab World at the Collège de France and the CAREP (Arab Center for Research and Political Studies)
Our letter protesting the very recent arrests and summons of five independent scholars accused by the regime of threatening national security, and calling upon the government to desist from its punitive practices and the ongoing violations of citizens’ rights.
Our letter expressing concern about the capricious and hasty suspension of Assistant Professor Tamar Shirinian of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and your decision to terminate her for remarks she made on social media regarding Charlie Kirk
Our letter expressing concern about the decision to prevent students from enrolling in classes unless they complete the deeply flawed online anti-bias training that Northwestern University has mandated for all undergraduate and graduate students
The Committee on Academic Freedom received a response from the Executive Correspondence Officer for the Prime Minister of Canada in response to our letter regarding visas and study permits for Palestinian scholars
The Committee on Academic Freedom received a response from the Vice President for university relations at the University of Kentucky in response to our letter regarding Professor Ramsi Woodcock
Our letter expressing concern about the University of Kentucky’s summary suspension of Ramsi Woodcock, Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs Professor of Law, pending an investigation of statements he has made regarding Palestine
Our urgent letter to the Iranian authorities demanding information about the whereabouts and circumstances of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali who was moved to an undisclosed location soon after Evin Prison came under Israeli attack on 23 June 2025 and has not had contact with his family since then.
The Committee on Academic Freedom received a response from the Dean of the Claremont Colleges Library in response to our letter regarding Bilal Nasir of Pomona College
Our letter expressing concern about the University of California, Berkeley’s decision to give the federal government the names of 160 individuals associated with allegations of antisemitism on campus without informing them of the nature of those allegations and in violation of university policies and procedures
Our letter urging an immediate intervention to expedite the visa and study permit applications of Palestinian scholars who have secured academic placements at Canadian universities.
Our letter expressing concern about the demand by the Claremont Colleges Library that Professor Bilal Nasir of Pomona College change the title and abstract of a lecture he had been invited to present in the library’s “Claremont Discourse” series.
Our letter expressing deep concern over the reinstatement of presidential authority to appoint university rectors—a move that defies a Constitutional Court ruling and threatens academic freedom and university autonomy in Turkey.
Our letter expressing concern at the decision of Occidental College to subject three students to investigation and disciplinary action for seeking to exercise their constitutionally protected right to protest
Letter to the City University of New York protesting the non-reappointment of four adjunct faculty members and the suspension of a student.
Our letter expressing grave concern at the decision of the Harvard Educational Publishing Group (HEPG), which publishes the Harvard Educational Review (HER), to cancel a planned special issue on the topic of education and Palestine.
Our letter expressing concern regarding the new policy about boycotts of companies as a serious threat to academic freedom and to the free speech rights of University of California students, faculty and staff.
Our letter expressing concern about Georgetown University’s punitive actions and statements against Professor Jonathan A. C. Brown, the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Chair of Islamic Civilization in Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service
Our letter expressing alarm regarding the imminent risk of execution of Ahmadreza Djalali, Iranian-Swedish scholar on death row in Iran and joining global academic & human rights voices demanding justice and his safe return to Sweden.
Our letter vigorously condemning the ongoing and intensifying aggressions against the education sector in the occupied West Bank. We call upon various international bodies as well as the US government to intervene to allow Palestinians to continue their education unimpeded and their universities to function properly in keeping with their mission.
Our letter expressing concern at the decision of the San José State University (SJSU) administration to terminate the employment of Professor Sang Hea Kil, a tenured member of the Department of Justice Studies, due to alleged violations of university time, manner and place rules.
Our letter expressing concern about the decision of the administration of the George Washington University to ban graduating senior Cecilia Culver from campus and threaten to investigate her for possible student conduct code violations.