Letter protesting new Israel Government directive regarding selection of international scholars and students to teach and study in Palestinian Universities

    Letter to Israeli authorities protesting the Government’s proposed policy regarding the selection of international scholars and students to teach and study in Palestinian universities, giving the Israeli military the unilateral power to select and exclude scholars and students and limiting their numbers significantly, while censoring certain disciplines and foci of research. If implemented, the policy would undermine Palestinian universities' ability to recruit appropriate faculty and curtail Palestinians' academic freedom.

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    Middle East Scholars Vote to Endorse BDS

    The membership of MESA has voted in favor of a resolution endorsing the Palestinian call for boycotts, divestment, and sanctions of Israel as a way to hold the government accountable for ongoing human rights violations. MESA’s Board of Directors will implement it in a manner consistent with MESA’s bylaws as well as relevant U.S. federal, state, and local laws. The resolution states that the boycott will not target individual students or scholars, and reiterates the right of individual MESA members to choose whether or not they wish to participate in an academic boycott of Israeli institutions.

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    Letter regarding the continued detention of translators, Kholoud Said and Marwa Arafa

    Letter to Egyptian authorities expressing concern about the continued detention of Kholoud Said, a translator and the head of the Translation Unit of the publication department at Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA), and free-lance translator Marwa Arafa, and calling for their immediate release.

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    Letter protesting latest attacks on Palestinian universities and civil society organizations

    Letter to the Israeli government protesting the ongoing and intensified attacks on Palestinian universities and civil society organizations. We highlight, in particular, the pre-dawn invasion of Birzeit University by Israeli soldiers on 14 December 2021 and the designation, on 22 October, of six Palestinian civil society organizations as "terrorist."

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    Letter regarding the continuing attacks on Boğaziçi University’s students and faculty under the leadership of the new rector, Mehmet Naci İnci

    Letter to President Erdoğan regarding the continuing attacks against the Boğaziçi University’s students and faculty, including police raids, securitization and militarization of the university campus, dismissals of professors through arbitrary rectoral decisions, and criminalization of peaceful academic protest.

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    Letter regarding the termination and deportation of Yemeni scholars in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Letter to Saudi authorities expressing concern about the reported dismissals of Yemeni scholars, physicians and other professionals from their positions at universities in the southern provinces of al-Baha, Asir, Jazan and Najran.

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    Letter to Iranian authorities calling for immediate release of imprisoned conservationist, Niloufar Bayani

    Letter to Iranian authorities calling for the immediate release of conservationist, Niloufar Bayani, who is serving a 10-year sentence on dubious charges and is experiencing declining health. Bayani has contracted the Covid-19 virus in prison and has been sent to a quarantine isolation ward with inadequate medical support.

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