Harvard Center for Middle Eastern Studies changes leadership amid federal efforts to combat anti-Semitism
Amid concerns over anti-Israel bias and allegations of anti-Semitism, Harvard University's Center for Middle Eastern Studies will have new leadership.
The Harvard Crimson reports that Interim Dean of Social Science David Cutler removed Director Cemal Kafadar and Associate Director Rosie Bsheer from their roles on Wednesday.
Amid concerns over anti-Israel bias and allegations of anti-Semitism, Harvard University’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies is changing its leadership.
The Harvard Crimson reports that Interim Dean of Social Science David Cutler removed Director Cemal Kafadar and Associate Director Rosie Bsheer from their roles on Wednesday. While the two officials will remain in their positions as Harvard faculty, Interim Director Salmaan Keshavjee will stay on through the end of the current academic year.
As noted by the Crimson, the center has faced criticism over its anti-Israel programming, including from former Harvard President Lawrence Summers, who recently called a February panel discussion on “Israel’s War in Lebanon” as “very likely” being anti-Semitic.
Last May, the Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance produced a report accusing the center of various anti-Semitic allegations, including how it portrayed Israel as the “last remaining colonial settler power embodying the world’s worst evils: racism, apartheid, and genocide.”
In the same report, the alliance also pointed to how Sara Roy, a Harvard lecturer and center affiliate, previously published a work stating that Hamas ”emphasized not political violence but rather community development and civic restoration.”
Dean Cutler reportedly sent an email thanking Kafadar for his “intellectual leadership and a compelling vision for the Center.”
The center’s leadership overhaul comes amid the Trump administration’s crackdown against anti-Semitism in higher education, most notably its decision to pull $400 million in federal funding from Columbia University for its failure to protect Jewish students.
In a similar move, the Harvard School of Public Health recently ended its relationship with Birzeit University of the West Bank, which has been allegedly linked to Hamas.
Established in 1954, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies is dedicated to the “pursuit of firsthand knowledge about the Middle East based on literacy in its languages and understanding of its diverse politics, cultures, and histories.”
The Center for Middle Eastern Studies has been contacted for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.