Middle East Studies Association of North America, Inc.
3542 N. Geronimo Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85705
520 333-2577 phone
520 207-3166 fax
Letter to Birzeit University President Khalil Hindi regarding the university administration's handling of the controversy surrounding the caricatures Professor Musa Budeiri placed on his office door.
Israeli Government’s ongoing violations against Palestinian education and its denial of Gaza students’ right to study in the West Bank, in particular the cases of four students who had to discontinue their studies in 2000, and are now seeking to resume their studies at Birzeit University, as well as Lujain Zaim who Israel is denying the right to begin university studies there.
New York Times advertisement placed by the David Horowitz Freedom Center that lists 14 professors by name, describing them (in most cases without any specific accusations) as people who “should be publicly shamed and condemned for the crimes their hatred incites.” It thereby suggests that these scholars are complicit in hate crimes merely for expressing their support for the BDS campaign.
Letter to the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce regarding its program, Teachers Educating Across Cultures in Harmony (TEACH), aimed at cross cultural exchanges and increased knowledge between educators in the United States and the Arab World. The 5th annual educator trip is planned for the Kingdom of Bahrain and State of Qatar “to raise awareness, understanding, and cooperation between educators in the United States and the Middle East.” The letter asks that the program introduce its participants to the situation of the educational sector in Bahrain.
Letter to Bahrain Minister of Justice Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa regarding the ongoing state prosecution and harassment of university faculty, staff, and students.
Early-morning IDF invasion of al-Quds University’s Institute of Modern Media at the Abu Dis campus when televising equipment was destroyed and the television transmitter seized. This wanton attack upon an educational establishment is a direct infringement upon academic freedom and seems to be part of a broader Israeli campaign against education and academic freedom in the West Bank and Gaza.
Disciplinary charges which Baylor University has brought against Professor Marc Ellis and about his removal from his teaching and administrative duties without a hearing.
Letter to the Israeli Council for Higher Education (CHE) chairman Gideon Sa’ar regarding the recommendation that Ben Gurion University consider closing down the Department of Politics and Government.
Letter to University of California President Mark G. Yudof regarding police violence toward the campus communities engaged in peaceful protest on university campuses.
Letter to Assembly of Turkish-American Associations President Ergun Kirlikovali regarding allegations that Prof. Keith Watenpaugh had defamed the organization.
Letter to McGill University administrators for pressure put on members of its faculty who have expressed solidarity with the strike called by the McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association (MUNACA).
Response to the July 7, 2011, Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism (CPCCA) report whose loose and overly broad definition of antisemitism may threaten freedom of speech and violate the principles of academic freedom by defining criticism of Israeli policies, of Zionism or of Israel as a self-defined Jewish state as inherently antisemitic.
Letter from Yale University Provost Peter Salovey regarding CAF's request for an investigation into possible improper government influence on the University's 2006 decisoin not to hire Juan Cole.
Letter to Yale University's president and provost asking for an investigation into possible improper government influence on or communication regarding the university's 2006 decision not to hire Professor Juan Cole, as recommended by two departments. A June 15, 2011 New York Times article indicated that during that same time period the Bush administration was apparently seeking to have the CIA collect and provide information that might be used to discredit him.
Letter to Claremont McKenna Vice President Gregory D. Hess regarding allegations made against Professor Bassam Frangieh in articles that appeared in at least two local publications. The allegations and the resulting calls for Professor Frangieh’s dismissal threaten not only the right to free speech but also the principles of academic freedom.
Letter to Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas expressing concern about the decision to bring misdemeanor conspiracy charges against eleven university students in connection with their disruption of a speech by Israeli ambassador Michael Oren at UC Irvine on February 8, 2010.
Letter to the Turkish Coalition of America on its decision to file a lawsuit against the University of Minnesota and its Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, allegedly prompted by the Center’s listing of the organization’s website as an “unreliable” source with respect to the history of Armenians in the final years of the Ottoman Empire.
Remarks by two members of Ontario’s Legislative Assembly, and by Ontario’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, with regard to the contents of a thesis accepted by a master’s program at the University of Toronto. These assertions inappropriately conflate criticism of Zionism and Israel with anti-Semitism. They also evince a disregard for the principles of academic freedom and threaten the autonomy of Canadian universities.
Since the disputed election of 2009, the Iranian authorities have intensified their repression and persecution of non-violent student activists and scholars on and off university campuses. Hundreds of students on campuses throughout Iran have been banned from study, arrested, given arbitrary and harsh sentences, imprisoned, and tortured. The letter calls for immediate and unconditional release of all students and scholars of conscience imprisoned in Iran for their political views and non-violent activism.
Letter to Bar-Ilan University President Moshe Kaveh regarding the tenure case of Dr. Ariela Azoulay. She may have been denied tenure as a result of opaque and improper evaluation procedures and because of her political views, rather than on the basis of her record as a scholar, teacher, and member of her university and academic communities.
Letter to Egyptian President Husni Mubarak and Minister of Higher Education Dr. Hany Mahfouz Helal expressing grave concern over numerous recent violations of the rights of university students to engage in lawful, peaceful activism. According to numerous media reports, university security officers and administrators systematically suppressed student activities prior to student union elections on October 18. Students have been verbally abused, beaten, detained, arrested, and suspended.
Letter concerning the recent spate of harsh and unwarranted sentencing of a number of prominent scholars, intellectuals, and academic rights activists, including the continued persecution of Mr. Emadeddin Baghi and the announcement by Iranian authorities on September 21, 2010, that he has been sentenced to an additional six years imprisonment. Mr. Baghi is an internationally-renowned independent scholar and a prolific author, a prominent journalist, and a leading human rights and prisoners’ rights defender, who also has campaigned against capital punishment and torture in Iran.
Letter to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Rachid Haraoubia expressing deep concern about a set of directives to the heads of Algerian institutions of higher education and research on a new set of procedures for the participation of Algerian scholars in conferences, colloquia, seminars, and workshops held outside the country. The document permits Algerian scholars to accept invitations to attend such meetings only with the prior approval of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MESRS). International gatherings to be held in Algeria must also receive prior approval from the Ministry.
Letter to University of Aden Rector Abd al-Aziz Saleh Bin Habtoor protesting the two-year suspension of Mr. Wa’el al-Qubati, a fourth-year student in the Journalism and Mass Communications Faculty. Mr. al-Qubati was suspended without due process or notification, apparently for writing newspaper articles critical of the university administration.
Letter to Suez Canal University President al-Zoghby protesting the dismissal of Mr. Ahmad Galal, a student in his final year in the Faculty of Medicine. Last April Mr. Galal was the victim of a severe beating by the University Security Forces (USF) for distributing a magazine on campus. Rather than protest against this flagrant violation of academic freedom, a University Disciplinary Committee issued a suspension order against Mr. Galal. No disciplinary action is known to have been taken against the members of the USF involved in the incident.