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Israel must lift its bar on US student Lara Alqasem

Lara Alqasem
‘We are dismayed at the decision of Israel’s Ministry of Interior to deny entry to American citizen Lara Alqasem.’
Photograph: AP

As academics from multiple disciplines at universities across the United States and across the globe, we are dismayed at the decision of Israel’s Ministry of Interior to deny entry to American citizen Lara Alqasem (US student barred from Israel over alleged BDS to fight case in court, theguardian.com, 10 October).

Alqasem was accepted and planned to matriculate into a master’s programme in transitional justice at Hebrew University. Despite her having received a student visa from the Israeli consulate in Miami, Alqasem was denied entry at the airport on 2 October, where, according to reliable media sources, she was questioned about her political activities (unverified information that was obtained by the notorious rightwing website Canary Mission) and her ethnic heritage. (Alqasem’s grandparents are Palestinian.)

Denying entry to foreign students based on political beliefs or ethnic heritage is an attack on academic freedom. As professors who are committed to academic freedom, and as humans who reject all forms of racial profiling, we are calling on the Israeli authorities to permit Lara Alqasem to enter Israel and pursue her studies.

Elizabeth Aaronsohn, Associate Professor Emeritus, Teacher Education, Central Connecticut State University
Yusuf Abul-Hajj, Professor Emeritus, Department Of Medicinal Chemistry, University Of Minnesota
Mohammed Abu-Nimer, Professor, School of International Service, American University
Rachel Adler, Ellenson Professor of Modern Jewish Thought , Hebrew Union College
Sofya Aptekar, Assistant Professor, Sociology, University of Massachusetts Boston
Andrew Arsham, Assistant Professor of Biology, Bemidji State University
Hannah Ashley, Professor, Rustin Urban Community Change Axis, West Chester University
Mubarak Awad, Adjunct Professor, School for International Service, American University
Anthony Bale, Professor and Dean, School of Arts, Birkbeck, University of London
Benjamin Balthaser, Associate Professor, English, Indiana University, South Bend
Alyson Bardsley, Associate Professor, English, City University of New York
Wendy Barry, Instructor, English, Speech and Journalism, Trident Technical College
Frank Belcastro, Professor, Education and Psychology, University of Dubuque
Susie Belleci, Instructor, Peace and Justice, SIT Graduate Institute
Sarah Benor, Professor of Jewish Studies, Hebrew Union College
Yoav Ben-Shlomo, Professor Of Clinical Epidemiology, University Of Bristol
Yael Ben-Zvi, Senior Lecturer, Foreign Literature, Ben Gurion University
Beth Berkowitz, Professor, Religion, Barnard College
Nathaniel Berman, Professor, Religious Studies, Brown University
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Jess Bier, Assistant Professor, Public Administration and Sociology, Erasmus University Rotterdam
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Robert Boyce, Professor Emeritus, International History, London School of Economics
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Aryeh Cohen, Professor of Rabbinic Literature, Rabbinic School, American Jewish University
Lara Cohen, Associate Professor, English Department, Swarthmore College
Sarah Combellick-Bidney, Associate Professor, Political Science, Augsburg University
Pamela Cooper-White, Professor Psychology and Religion, Practical Theology, Union Theological Seminary New York
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Rachel Giora, Professor, Department Of Linguistics, Tel Aviv university
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Tami Gold, Professor, Film & Media Studies, Hunter College
Neve Gordon, Professor of Politics, Ben-Gurion University
Stacey Gordon, Adjunct Professor, Silver School of Social Work, New York University
Connor Gorman, Associate Instructor, Physics, University of California Davis
Sharon Gramby-Sobukwe, Associate Professor and Program Director, Political Science, Eastern University
Laura Grindstaff, Professor, Sociology, University of California - Davis
Tyrell Haberkorn, Associate Professor, Department Of Asian Languages And Cultures, University Of Wisconsin, Madison
David Hadar, Dr. EAP, Seminar HaKibbutzim
Jean Halley, Professor, Department Of Sociology, College Of Staten Island Of The City, New York University
Tim Hartman, Assistant Professor, Theology, Columbia Theological Seminary
Sara Helman, Senior Lecturer, Sociology and Anthropology, Ben Gurion University
Andres Fabian Henao Castro, Assistant Professor, Political Science, University of Massachusetts Boston
Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, Dr, Divinity School, Vanderbilt University
Susannah Heschel, Professor and Chair, Jewish Studies Program, Department Of Jewish Studies, Dartmouth College
Gad Heuman, Professor Emeritus, History, University of Warwick
Valerie Hey, Professor of Education, University of Sussex
Ken Hirschkop, Associate Professor, English Language and Literature, University of Waterloo
Halla Holmarsdottir, Vice Dean of Research, Faculty of Education and International Studies, Oslo Metropolitan University
Ivan Huber, Professor Emeritus, Biology, Fairleigh Dickinson University
Sheila M. Huss; School of Public Affairs, Colorado University-Denver
Aaron Jaffe, Asst. Professor of Philosophy, the Juilliard School
Tony Jenkins, Adjunct Professor, Justice and Peace Studies, Georgetown University
Andrew Johnson, Fellow, Political Science, University of California Santa Barbara
Dean Johnson, Director/Professor, Peace and Conflict/Philosophy, West Chester University
David Johnston, Visiting Scholar, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania
Lynne Joyrich, Professor, Modern Culture and Media, Brown University
Saul Kaiserman, Adjunct Professor, Education, Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion
Beth Kalikoff, Associate Professor, School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, University of Washington
Nancy Kalow, Lecturing Fellow, Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University
Gal Katz, Dr., Philosophy, Columbia University
Ira Katznelson, Professor, Political Science and History, Columbia University
Edward Kaufman, Professor, Center of International Development and Conflict Management, University Of Maryland
Eli Kean, Instructor, Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies, Kansas State University
Paul Keim, Professor, Bible, Religion and Philosophy, Goshen College
Paul Kelemen, Honorary Research Fellow, Social Sciences, University of Manchester
Selma Khan, Department Chair, Biology, University of California Los Angeles
Andrew Klager Director of Institute for Religion, Peace and Justice, St.
Stephen’s University
Carl Kline, Adjunct Professor, Religion, Mt. Marty College
Brian Klug, Research Fellow, Philosophy, Oxford University
Eleonore Kofman, Professor, Law and Politics, Middlesex University London
Jacques Kornberg, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto
Oren Kroll-Zeldin, Assistant Professor, Jewish Studies and Social Justice, University of San Francisco
Bjorn Krondorfer, Professor, Comparative Cultural Studies, Northern Arizona University
Chana Kronfield, Professor of Near Eastern Studies and Comparative Literature, UC Berkeley
Sonja Kuftinec, Professor Theater Arts and Dance, University of Minnesota
David Kurz, Field Instructor, School Of Social Work, Hebrew University, Jerusalem
Rahim Kurwa, Assistant Professor, Criminology, Law, and Justice, University of Illinois - Chicago
Jacob Labendz, Assistant Professor of History and director of the Center for Judaic and Holocaust Studies at Youngstown State University
David Laibman, Professor Emeritus, Department Of Economics, City University, New York
Frank Land, Professor Emeritus, Management Department, London School Of Economics
Mary Layoun, Professor of Comparative Literature, University Of Wisconsin, Madison
Ned Lazarus, Visiting Professor, Elliott School of International Affairs. George Washington University
Les Levidow, Senior Research Fellow, Development Policy and Practice, Open University
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Malcolm Levitt, Professor Of Physical Chemistry, Chemistry Department, University Of Southampton, UK
Karen Levy, Instructor, English, California State University
Lital Levy, Associate Professor, Comparative Literature, Princeton University
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Rabbi Justin Jaron Lewis, Dr, Judaic Studies Program, University of Manitoba
Ellen Lindeen, Professor, English, Waubonsee Community College
Joe Lockard, Associate Professor, English, Arizona State University
Zachary Lockman, Professor, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and History, New York University
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Eric Love, Assistant Professor, Department Of Sociology, Dickinson College
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Richard MacMaster, Professor Emeritus, History, University of Florida
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Daniel Mandell Professor, History, Truman State University
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Sarah Shields, Professor, History Department, University Of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
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Tamir Sorek, Professor, Jewish Studies, University of Florida
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Annabelle Sreberny, Emeritus Professor, Centre for Global Media, SOAS University of London
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Loizos Symeou, Vice Rector Of academic Affairs, Department Of Educational Sciences, European University Of Cyprus
Steve Tamari, Department of Historical Studies, Southern Illinois University
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Deborah Valenze, Professor, History, Barnard College, Columbia University
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Roger Waldinger, Distinguished Professor, Sociology, University of California Los Angeles
Irwin Wall, Professor Emeritus, History, University of California Riverside
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