Committee on Academic Freedom | Middle East Studies Association of North America | –
Letter to Canadian officials about visas and study permits for Palestinian scholars
The Right Honourable Mark Carney
Prime Minister of Canada
pm@pm.gc.ca . . .
Dear Prime Minister Carney, Minister Metlege Diab and Minister Anadasangaree:
We write on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) and its Committee on Academic Freedom to urge your immediate intervention to expedite the visa and study permit applications of Palestinian scholars—including 70 graduate students—who have secured academic placements at Canadian universities but remain trapped in Gaza due to bureaucratic delays and requirements that are impossible to meet, given the ongoing war.
MESA was founded in 1966 to promote scholarship and teaching on the Middle East and North Africa. The preeminent organization in the field, MESA publishes the International Journal of Middle East Studies and has nearly 2800 members worldwide. MESA is committed to ensuring academic freedom and freedom of expression, both within the region and in connection with the study of the region in North America and elsewhere.
Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk (PSSR) has called public attention to the urgent situation of students and scholars from Gaza. Many have been accepted into Canadian institutions for the fall 2025 term but are unable to enter the country due to delays in processing, including security checks and biometric requirements that are currently impossible to fulfill from Gaza. We understand that most of these applications are being held up by an additional layer of security screening applied because they are Palestinian; some cases have been stalled for over a year. Meanwhile, other countries, including France, Ireland and the United Kingdom have taken concrete steps to secure safe passage for Gazan students and expedite their entry.
These students and scholars have already endured unimaginable hardship, including military assaults, starvation, repeated displacement and the total destruction of Gaza’s higher education system, including the obliteration of all twelve of its universities, which MESA has condemned. Some of the students, like twin sisters Sally and Dalia Ghazi Ibaid who were admitted to the University of Waterloo’s PhD program, were tragically killed while trying to get their visas. Others have been injured. Many more remain stranded and are at grave risk due to visa delays.
These students and scholars are not just victims in need of charity; they are exceptional scholars, admitted into competitive programs at Canadian institutions. They have the potential to make significant contributions across many fields and disciplines. Many were selected to join projects funded by Canadian government, industry or university research grants—projects now jeopardized by their continued absence. We are also concerned about the long-term damage to Canada’s research ecosystem. These students are critical to collaborative projects with time-sensitive goals and deliverables. Delays not only disrupt these students’ and scholars’ academic trajectories but also threaten the success of Canadian research initiatives and the international reputation of our institutions.
In light of the above, we join PSSR in urgently calling on you to:
- Reverse the biased directive requiring second-level security checks solely based on Palestinian origin, which is inconsistent with Canada’s treatment of applicants from other conflict zones.
- Expedite security screening for Gazan students and scholars and clear the backlog of applications swiftly, allocating necessary resources to ensure timely approvals.
- Create a biometric exemption upon exit of Gaza and establish secure biometric collection options after exit.
- Arrange evacuation routes by working with Global Affairs Canada and international partners to coordinate secure exits for students and scholars, following the example of countries already doing so.
These Palestinian students and scholars are not only the future of Palestinian civil society; they are part of our shared global academic community. Supporting their right to education is both a humanitarian imperative and central to Canada’s commitment to academic freedom, justice, and the universal right to learn.
We urge you to act now and look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Aslı Ü. Bâli
MESA President
Professor, Yale Law School
Laurie A. Brand
Chair, Committee on Academic Freedom
Professor Emerita, University of Southern California
Chair, Committee on Academic Freedom
Professor Emerita, University of Southern California
cc:
Farida Shaheed
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education
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