Last July, as part of a $221 million settlement with the federal government over antisemitism claims, Columbia University pledged to reform its approach to Middle Eastern studies. Among the commitments made was a promise “to ensure the educational offerings are comprehensive and balanced.”
But as The Free Press’s Maya Sulkin reported last month, that pledge appears not to have been upheld. All four finalists under consideration for the Edward Said Professorship in Modern Arab Studies and Literature, a prominent position in the Middle East Studies department, had expressed overt animosity toward Israel.
Now, Columbia’s history department has made its choice. In a March 9 message that has not previously been reported, the selection committee “unanimously and enthusiastically” recommended Harvard professor Rosie Bsheer for the position.
Bsheer has a long history of anti-Israel activism. One year ago, she was removed as a leader of Harvard’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies for “insufficiently balanced” programming on Palestine. While she was associate director, the center hosted speakers who “appeared to justify Hamas’s actions” on October 7, 2023, according to Harvard’s antisemitism report. The Trump administration accused the center of fueling “antisemitic harassment” and reflecting “ideological capture.”
