The leaders of Harvard University’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies are leaving their positions after the center faced accusations of anti-Israel bias.
The departures come as the Trump administration scrutinizes institutions who have had pro-Palestine protests over the last year. Earlier this week, Columbia’s president announced she will step down after Trump targeted the university for protests on campus last year.
On Wednesday, Harvard’s interim dean of social science, David Cutler, said in an email to center affiliates that the Center for Middle Eastern Studies director, Cemal Kafadar, a professor of Turkish studies, would be stepping down by the end of the academic year, according to the Harvard Crimson. Rosie Bsheer, a professor of history, is also stepping down as associate director. Both are expected to remain in their faculty positions.
Faculty members who spoke to the New York Times anonymously said they believe that Kafadar and Bsheer were forced out of their roles. Harvard did not immediately respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.
The executive committee of Harvard’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors condemned the departures in a statement to the Times saying that they are “abrupt termination[s]”.
“In the context of recent events, the decision appears to be a shameful attempt to escape punishment from the Trump administration for engaging in academic discussions about topics the president disfavors,” the committee said. “These firings cede the university’s decision-making authority to bullies and bad-faith actors committed to silence speech with which they disagree.”
The Center for Middle Eastern Studies has been under criticism for alleged anti-Israel bias. Posting on X, economist and former Harvard president Lawrence Summers praised the university for moving to replace the center’s leadership.
“Even after egregious delay since it was pointed up right after October 7, I am very glad that Harvard is curbing its institutional support for anti semitism,” Summers wrote.
Summers had earlier criticized Harvard’s president, Alan Garber, on X as “lack[ing] the will and/or leverage” to fight the alleged bias. Summers specifically pointed to a panel that the center held in February on “Israel’s war in Lebanon” as being antisemitic.
Garber replaced Claudine Gay , who stepped down as the university’s president in early 2024 after she was accused of plagiarism and was heavily scrutinized for her congressional testimony in 2023 about antisemitism on college campuses. Summers was openly critical of Gay and was initially supportive of Garber’s appointment as her replacement.
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The leadership shake-ups at Harvard are just the latest seen on elite campuses that are battling criticism from the Trump administration over antisemitism on campus. After Trump pulled $400m of federal funding from Columbia, the university agreed to place its Middle Eastern, South African and African Studies department under review, among other agreements that align with Trump’s demands.
On Friday, Columbia’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, announced that she would step down imminently and be replaced by Claire Shipman, the co-chair of the university’s board of trustees.
