censorship

Trump Administration Concedes U.S. Researchers may Talk with Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Despite Sanctions

Middle East Studies Association of North America | – ( MESA Press Release ) – WASHINGTON—In response to a letter sent by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, the Treasury Department last week confirmed that a scholarly organization—the Middle East Studies Association (MESA)—may hold an event with U.N. Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese even […]

Academic Freedom

Rebuking UC Berkeley over Suspension of Lecturer for Palestine Advocacy

Committee on Academic Freedom

Committee on Academic Freedom | Middle East Studies Association of North America | – Letter to the University of California, Berkeley, expressing concern about the suspension of Lecturer Peyrin Kao Chancellor Rich Lyons Office of the Chancellor University of California, Berkeley chancellor@berkeley.edu Benjamin Hermalin Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost University of California, Berkeley hermalin@berkeley.edu […]

Authoritarianism

Sudan’s Agony: Surprising Lessons for the US Resistance to Trump

Rebecca Gordon

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Follow a line south and west from the Gaza strip, continue through Egypt, and you’ll end up in another place where a genocide is in progress. It’s one we don’t hear much about in the United States, probably because it’s happening in an African nation, one of those places Donald Trump […]

censorship

Syria: One Year since Assad’s Fall

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – Syrian transitional authorities have taken positive steps on justice, transparency, and rights but failed to prevent continued violence and atrocities, Human Rights Watch said today on the anniversary of the former government’s fall. As Syrian authorities move the country forward, they should, with international support, credibly address outstanding concerns around […]

censorship

Labeling dissent as Terrorism: Trump’s NSPM-7 raises Constitutional Alarms

The Conversation

By Melinda Haas, University of Pittsburgh (The Conversation) – A largely overlooked directive issued by the Trump administration marks a major shift in U.S. counterterrorism policy, one that threatens bedrock free speech rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights. National Security Presidential Memorandum/NSPM-7, issued on Sept. 25, 2025, is a presidential directive that for the […]

censorship

Rebuking U of Guelph for Cancellation of People’s Conference for Palestinian Solidarity

Committee on Academic Freedom

Committee on Academic Freedom | Middle East Studies Association of North America | – Letter to the University of Guelph expressing concern at its last-minute cancellation of the People’s Conference for Palestinian Solidarity Rene Van Acker President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Guelph president@uoguelph.ca Dear President Van Acker and Provost Rosehart: We write on […]

censorship

Yemen: Houthis’ Widespread, Arbitrary Detentions of Political Opponents

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – Houthi authorities have detained dozens of political opponents since July 2025, including the leaders of several political parties in Yemen, some of which may amount to enforced disappearances, Human Rights Watch said today. At least 70 people associated with the Yemeni Congregation for Reform, known as the Islah party, were […]

Academic Freedom

In the Spirit of H. Chandler Davis: Activism and the Struggle for Academic Freedom

Juan Cole

Juan says: I’m honored to have an essay in this volume on threats to academic freedom and to free speech in the United States since 2023. I look at the crisis as it unfolded in is first months. All of the essays are urgent reading during America’s current Third Red Scare. I have been in […]

Canada

Protesting Canada’s Detention of Former UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk over Palestine Rights Advocacy

Committee on Academic Freedom

Committee on Academic Freedom | Middle East Studies Association of North America | – Letter regarding the detention at the Canadian border of Emeritus Professor Richard Falk The Right Honourable Mark Carney Prime Minister of Canada pm@pm.gc.ca mark.carney@parl.gc.ca The Honourable Anita Anand Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita.Anand@parl.gc.ca . . . Mme. Erin O’Gorman President, Canada […]