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 Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to express concern about the recent closure of the Université Libre de Tunis(ULT), Tunisia’s first and pre-eminent private university, and the withdrawal of that institution’s authorization to operate for the next three academic years.
Letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei expressing the grave concern over the violent treatment, arrest, and harsh sentencing of students and activists across Iran since the Ashura demonstrations of late December 2009.
Letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei regarding the December 7, 2009, national Student Day anniversary in Iran, which was marked by large-scale violence carried out against protesting students across the country by the Iranian security forces.
Letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli’s Minister of Defense Ehud Barak, Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George J. Mitchell, and Israeli Ambassador Michael B. Oren regarding the arrest and subsequent deportation to Gaza by Israeli authorities of Ms. Berlanty Azzam who was weeks away from completing her degree at Bethlehem University.
Letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei expressing shock and dismay at the arrest, conviction, and harsh sentencing of Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh.
Letter to University of Khartoum President Mustafa Idris protesting the procedures followed in the expulsion of two students, Mr. Shams al-Din Muhammad al-Hassan Abbas Shatir and Ms. Rasha Abd al-Hamid Hasan Ali.
Letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei expressing very grave concern and mounting consternation over the continued intimidation, arrests, expulsions, and unwarranted violent crackdown carried out by the Iranian authorities against peaceful student activists on Iranian university campuses, as well as the latest spate of harassment and dismissal of university faculty on grounds of political and ideological dissent.
Letter to Israeli officials regarding the denial of Rima Najjar Merriman, a citizen of the US and Assistant Professor of American Literature at the Arab American University in Jenin (AAUJ), entry into the West Bank at Allenby on September 14, 2009.
Letter to University of Bahrain President Ebrahim Ahmed Aljanahi expressing concern at the disciplinary action taken against university student Ms. Noor Abbas. Earlier this year, Ms. Abbas circulated a statement on behalf of the Student Union List criticizing some policies and facilities at the University.
CAF-endorsed open letter to Yale University President Richard Levin and members of the Yale Corporation written by the National Coalition Against Censorship protesting the decision to remove all images of Mohammed from Jyette Klausen's forthcoming book The Cartoons that Shook the World published by Yale University Press.
Letter to Rector Henk Schmidt protesting the Erasmus University Rotterdam’s August 19 decision to terminate Dr. Tariq Ramadan’s guest professorship in Citizenship and Identity at the EUR due to his hosting a program on the Iranian English-language television channel Press TV.
Letter to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev President Rivka Carmi expressing concern over her comments approving BGU’s search for legal means to dismiss Senior Lecturer and Chair of the Government and Politics Department, Neve Gordon. These comments came in response to an opinion piece published by Dr. Gordon in the Los Angeles Times on 21 August, in which he called for a comprehensive boycott of his country as a means to pressure Israel to end its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei expressing concern about the recent arrests and continued detention of a large number of academics, scholars, and student activists in Iran without any formal charges and without access to legal representation. The 9 July 2009 arrest of Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh, a prominent Iranian-American social scientist, is a primary focus.
Letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressing grave concern regarding the large-scale wave of intimidation, arrests, and campus expulsions carried out by Iranian security forces against peaceful student activists and protesters on various university campuses throughout Iran since December 2008.
CAF-endorsed open letter to Madame Catherine Bréchignac, Présidente du CNRS regarding a disciplinary hearing of Vincent Geisser voicing concern that this is related to his work on Islam in France.
Three letters sent regarding the request by the Minister of State (Technology and Science) Gary Goodyear for a second review of the grant-in-aid secured from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The grant helped fund the York University conference, Israel/Palestine: Mapping Models of Statehood and Paths to Peace. The three letters were sent to Minister Gary Goodyear, SSHRC President Chad Gaffield, and York University President Mamdouh Shoukri. [A reply from Minister Goodyear’s office received June 22, 2009.]
Letter to Israel’s Minster of the Interior Eli Yishai regarding Israeli authorities’ refusal to allow Dr. Nicola Pratt to enter the West Bank on April 22, 2009. She was scheduled to present two seminars at the Institute for Women's Studies at Bir Zeit University.
Commendation to Tel Aviv University President Zvi Galil for his May 3, 2009 letter defending student Omar Barghouti's petition to boycott Israeli universities.
Letter to University of California, Santa Barbara Academic Senate Chair Joel Michaelsen regarding the alleged misconduct and investigation of sociology professor William Robinson.
Letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei regarding the treatment by security forces of student demonstrators on several university campuses.
Letter to Prime Minister Recep Tayyıp Erdoğan regarding pattern of arrests and detention of university faculty and rectors in connection with the Ergenekon investigation.
Letter to John Bassett, President Clark University on the cancellation of Professor Norman Finkelstein's lecture at Clark University. [Reply received on April 29, 2009.]
CAF expresses concern about the circumstances surrounding the administration’s decision not to renew Joel Kovel’s appointment as Distinguished Professor of Social Studies at Bard College. [Response from President Leon Botstein received March 9, 2009.]
Letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to express grave concern over military campaign against the Gaza Strip that has included the killing of students outside the Gaza Training College in Gaza City and the bombing of the Gaza Islamic University.
Letter to President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, and Nabil Abuznaid, Representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization, to express concern regarding violent incidents at al-Azhar University in Gaza and the role of Palestinian security forces in these incidents.