Chip Gibbons reports that “some pro-Israel groups have now set their sights on a familiar target—Middle Eastern studies departments. A coalition of groups led by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and the AMCHA Initiative are leading a campaign to end federal funding for college Middle Eastern studies programs unless they adopt means to oversee and police the alleged ideological content of those programs.” If these groups get their way it would set a precedent for imposing ideological agendas by force in higher education. Knowledge does not advance through censorship, but through unfettered debate. If these groups disagree with certain claims about Israel they should engage in scholarly debate. Their agenda also threatens to undermine any hope for peace in the region. If we are to tackle the problem we need to face the situation honestly and JUSTLY. A one-sided perspective in which one group is completely innocent (Israelis) and the other is completely guilty (Palestinians) is not only not true, it will perpetuate the status quo of revenge/counter-revenge in the region.

Congress Under Pressure to Defund University Middle East Programs | Defending Dissent Foundation.