Harvard University dismisses Center for Middle Eastern Studies leadership

ISTANBUL

Harvard University has dismissed faculty leaders at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES), according to recently surfaced reports.

CMES Director, professor of Turkish Studies Cemal Kafadar, and associate director, history professor Rosie Bsheer, were forced to leave by Interim Dean of Social Science David Cutler, according to The Harvard Crimson.

Kafadar is reportedly on leave for the 2024-2025 academic year with global health professor Salmaan Keshavjee taking the helm as the center’s interim director.

Kafadar and Bsheer will remain in their faculty positions.

The CMES has faced mounting criticism from university affiliates, who accuse the center of antisemitic programming and a lack of representation of Israeli perspectives.

In response, Harvard has taken steps to distance itself from programs under scrutiny for alleged bias or criticism of Israel.

The controversy comes amid pressure from the Trump administration, which has urged universities to overhaul or shutter programs it deems problematic. Other institutions have already begun making changes in response to the demands.

Harvard’s School of Public Health recently suspended its research partnership with Birzeit University in the West Bank after repeated calls to sever ties.

And a report released in May by the Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance accused CMES of portraying Israel as a colonial settler state engaged in racism, apartheid and genocide.

The report criticized the center for disproportionately focusing on the Israel-Palestine conflict at the expense of other regional issues. It detailed a series of allegedly unbalanced events and programs, including claims that Kafadar had expressed pro-Palestinian views to students.