Middle East academic research caught in crosshairs of Trump's crackdown

Cambridge, Massachusetts - The issue of academic research on the Middle East has become a political flashpoint, as critics of Israel allege a "Palestine exception" exists when it comes to free speech rights.

A special edition of the prestigious Harvard Educational Review dedicated to Palestinians was abruptly cancelled. © Libby O'Neill / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Case in point, recently, a special edition of the prestigious Harvard Educational Review (HER) was in the works, entirely dedicated to Palestinians – the articles had been painstakingly written, edited, and approved.

But the authors said they also received an unusual demand for a final readout by lawyers, which soon derailed their efforts.

The publisher's stunning late-stage decision to scrap the entire edition reflects the overheated political climate in the US, where academic research on the Middle East has attracted accusations of so-called "wokeism" and "antisemitism" from President Donald Trump, as Israel's horrific assault rages on.

The edition began taking shape when, in March 2024 – six months after the deadly October 7 Hamas attacks – the renowned Harvard publication called for papers for a special issue on "Education and Palestine."

Anthropologist Thea Abu El-Haj and her colleagues submitted a paper on "scholasticide," a term describing the destruction of an education system, like in Gaza, with reference to the experience of Palestinian teachers during the Lebanese Civil War between 1975 and 1990.

But then the authors received phone calls informing them that the text would have to be submitted to Harvard's Office of the General Counsel for a "risk assessment."

"I have been publishing for decades in academic journals – including HER twice – and I have never been asked for this kind of review," said El-Haj, a professor at Columbia University's Barnard College.

After the authors objected to "censorship," the director of Harvard Education Press Jessica Fiorillo, told the authors the special issue had been cancelled in its entirety.

.@POTUS: "Billions of dollars has been paid to Harvard. How ridiculous is that?... And they have $52 billion as an endowment... Harvard's going to have to change its ways." pic.twitter.com/RDbIjkdSsJ

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 23, 2025

Academic criticism of Israel's assault faces intense pushback Harvard University has been locked in a bitter battle with the Trump administration, which has seen the president attempt to cut billions in funding. © Rick Friedman / AFP

Fiorillo denied "censorship" in a memo to the authors, seen by AFP, blaming inadequate review because the editors insisted on limiting the publisher's involvement to copyediting – without touching the "politically charged content."

"The only explanation that makes sense to me is that this is another instance of what has been called the 'Palestine exception' to free speech," said El-Haj, accusing Harvard of not upholding free speech while proclaiming to champion it amid its fight with Trump.

Since returning to power, Trump has accused prestigious US universities of antisemitism for failing to protect Jewish students during protests against Israel's assault on Gaza, which has been deemed genocidal by numerous human rights experts and organizations.

In an escalating war of attrition against Harvard, Trump sought to cut more than $2.6 billion of funding to the Ivy League university, while seeking to block entry of international students – a quarter of its enrollment.

Harvard said it had strengthened measures to protect Jewish and Israeli students while fighting the government's measures in court.

"The chilling climate for scholarly inquiry about Palestine at Harvard (and beyond) has been difficult for some time. Faculty, staff, and students have understandably felt a generalized cloud of fear and anxiety," Margaret Litvin, an Arabic literature professor at Boston University, told AFP.

At the start of the year, Harvard also adopted a definition of antisemitism used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). That definition is contested, however, as critics argue it may prevent criticism of Israel.

That distinction appears to be at the heart of the furor over the "education and Palestine" edition of the HER, said Chandni Desai, a University of Toronto professor, who was supposed to pen an article for the journal.

Harvard University did not comment.

The submitted articles would "likely fail" to have passed the IHRA definition test because "all the pieces are critical of Israel," Desai said.

"We've never seen an entire special issue collection being canceled – especially after... contracts have been signed and reviews and revisions done."