Academic Freedom and Columbia University

 

On May 10, 2008, Professor Abdul-Rahim al-Shaikh (Philosophy and Cultural Studies, Birzeit University) was officially invited to Columbia University to participate in a conference in honor of Edward Said entitled “1948-1978: Orientalism from the Standpoint of its Victims” (the conference was primarily sponsored by the Provost’s office and the Middle East Institute, along with other academic units in Arts and Sciences; the conference was held November 7-8, 2008). Professor al-Shaikh was also invited to deliver a talk and participate in a poetry reading in memory of the late Mahmoud Darwish in Berlin, Germany. The Berlin event was organized by the Berlin-Brandenburgische Academy of Sciences, Free University of Berlin, and Ha’atelier: Platform for Philosophy and Art.

As a Palestinian who holds a Palestinian Authority travel document, Professor al-Shaikh was required to have a visa to enter the United States. To obtain this visa, he had to attend a personal interview at the United States Consulate General located in “East” Jerusalem. However, as a Palestinian holding a West Bank Israeli identity card (though referred to as a “Palestinian ID,” this card is issued and controlled by the Israelis), he could not enter Jerusalem without a special “permit” from the occupation authorities.

On October 5, 2008, and after filling out all the paperwork needed through the Palestinian General and Civil Affairs Office in the Jerusalem outskirt town of Al-Ram, Professor al-Shaikh was sent to the military offices located in the Qalandya roadblock/checkpoint (DCO, District Coordination Office of the ”Civil Administration of the Judea and Samaria Region”) to collect the permit he would need to cross this arbitrary border and enter the city of Jerusalem on the following day. It is worth noting that the Palestinian offices are a mere liaison to the Israeli headquarters, and they serve no real function other than to save time for the Israelis and arrange the paperwork for their processing. Professor al-Shaikh spent several hours being subjected to all forms of abjection by the young Israeli conscripts before reaching the IOF “civil offices.”

The Qalandya roadblock (or “Qalandya Terminal” as the signs indicate), is viewed by Palestinians as a torturous crossing-point between Jerusalem and Ramallah. Crossing Qalandya, or just applying for a “permit” to cross, entails waiting in the sun for hours, and being pushed, without regard to gender, age, or physical condition, into an iron cage-like portico that is only 15 meters long. This cage, in which Palestinians are tightly gathered, does not allow anyone to move. The crowd confined to the cage is then forced to endure an extended wait until exiting towards several revolving iron “doors.” The crowd slowly makes its way towards the iron turnstile that only turns half a circle and then abruptly locks to prevent the passing of more than one Palestinian at a time. It is controlled from afar by an Israeli soldier sitting in an air-conditioned and bulletproof cabinet. After hearing the click and being allowed to turn the iron bars, one reaches the scanning machine for belongings and the electrical metal detector similar to those found now in airports. ID cards are shown through a glass window.

Professor al-Shaikh was applying for a one-hour permit only, not for a special magnetized card that is the prerequisite for a long period permit. As a result, he was instructed to slip his application under a window marked “Humanitarian Window.” A few hours later, an Israeli officer delivered a piece of paper through that very window, informing Professor al-Shaikh that he was “not allowed into Jerusalem based on a ban from the shin bet for security reasons.”

Keenly aware of the absurdity of asking colleagues and friends on the other side of the Atlantic for an intervention that might facilitate travel to the East Jerusalem United States Consulate General, Professor al-Shaikh nevertheless wrote, on October 6th, 2008 to the conveners of the conference at Columbia University to inform them of the denial of his right to enter Jerusalem, and to ask for their possible intervention.

He also wrote to the visa and cultural affairs officers at the US Consulate General in Jerusalem explaining his plight and asking for their immediate intervention. He never received an answer. As well, the Birzeit University lawyer Elia Theodore tried to appeal the Israeli refusal on Professor al-Shaikh’s behalf, but he could not do so because the refusal document that had been received at the DCO required that a whole new application for the permit be filed one more time within 14 days before an appeal could be made.

Professor al-Shaikh then tried yet another route with the lawyers at the Right to Education Campaign at his university, Birzeit University. At that point, these lawyers were forced to wait for over one week until the Israeli holiday season ended (these days were also days off at the American Consulate General in East Jerusalem—an institution that supposedly provides services for those who live in the Palestinian Authority areas and yet abides by the Israeli dictated calendar).

On October 13th, attorney Laura Robiaro wrote a letter to the American Consulate in Jerusalem on Professor al-Shaikh’s behalf stressing that his case

highlights simply one of the difficulties facing Palestinian academics on a regular basis, making it increasingly difficult for them to participate in the world of academia, exchange knowledge and ideas, and gain expertise in their field. Obstructing the access to visas is just one way in which the Israeli occupation impairs and often denies the academic freedom of Palestinians.

The Right to Education letter urged the Americans to bear their share of responsibility, emphasizing that

since the completion of the Wall in north Jerusalem—which expels major Palestinian areas from the city and cuts it off from the rest of the West Bank while incorporating its settlements—Palestinians holding West Bank Israeli identity cards have been unable to access your consular offices in Jerusalem. This has a clear and negative impact on the academic freedom of hundreds of Palestinian lecturers who are invited to participate in conferences in the USA but cannot participate due to their inability to obtain a visa. Your silence in this matter would amount to complicity in the collective punishment of Palestinian academics and the denial of their right to academic freedom.”¹

Nothing was heard back except automated answers from the US Consulate.

At Columbia, Professor Gil Anidjar, on behalf of the conveners of the Edward Said conference, approached Columbia University President and Provost asking for their immediate intervention (both acknowledged receipt; Provost Brinkley sent a few words on the difficulty of achieving anything in the matter). In Berlin, Professor Almut Bruckstein—the director of Ha’atelier: Platform for Philosophy and Art—drafted a letter appealing for immediate intervention from the Israeli Ambassador to Germany. The letter was endorsed by the organizers of the Darwish event. Most importantly, it was fully endorsed and signed by Professor Gunter Stock—the President of Berlin-Brandenburgische Academy of Sciences.

While nothing transpired from New York, the Berlin route seemed to be more effective. On October 27th 2008, Professor al-Shaikh received a phone call from Gadi Lahat—the Israeli Consul in Berlin—in which he “wished to assure” him that he could “leave the country from any border point or airport without any harassment, except the ‘normal regulations or security measures’ that any Israeli citizen is subject to when traveling.” Lahat also wanted to confirm the Israeli ambassador’s willingness (expressed earlier in the correspondence with event organizers in Berlin) to help in “transferring” the visa application from the American Consulate General in Jerusalem to that of Amman. Upon being asked why he did not send this in writing to the event organizers, Lahat responded that the Israeli embassy is unable to issue anything in writing in this regard.

Following the interventions described above, Professor al-Shaikh was able to fly to Berlin via Amman. He hasn’t been allowed to travel to Jerusalem, and could not attend the Columbia conference to which he was invited.

(summarized by Gil Anidjar)

1. See right2edu.birzeit.edu.