Members and supporters of the Stop the JNF Campaign, part of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, rally outside the New York Hilton Midtown on September 18, 2016. (Photo: Joe Catron / Flickr)
Outrage is mounting nationwide in the wake of a recent decision by administrators at a California state university to shut down a search for a scholar of Middle East studies in response to pressure from pro-Israel advocacy groups. Not only is this case notable for its violations of academic freedom, but it also repeats what appears to be a pattern nationwide of curtailing Palestinian studies. Speakers programs, classes and academic appointments have been interfered with, solely on the basis of the subject matter and the ethnic and national identities of those involved.
Administrators shut down the hiring process to fill the Edward Said Professorship in Middle East Studies at California State University (CSU), Fresno, on April 26 after pro-Israel advocacy groups allegedly raised an outcry over the candidates being considered by an academic search committee. Vida Samiian, a dean and linguistics professor at CSU-Fresno who directs the Middle East Studies program, told Truthout that pro-Israel advocacy groups began their “campaign of intimidation and harassment” after the shortlist of finalists for campus interviews was announced by the search committee. “Search committee members were pressured and questioned about the four finalists who were of Palestinian and Middle Eastern origin with research focused on the region,” Samiian said.
The administration thereupon cancelled the search, despite the objections of the search committee and those of Samiian. The university cited alleged procedural irregularities (the fact that the academic search committee was appointed by a dean rather than elected and voted in by a department) as reasons for the cancellation, but it had previously approved the search and had expressed no concerns until it received outside pressure….