This month, the Middle East Studies Association found time to condemn Israel for a “broad assault on the education system in the West Bank and Gaza.” The group still has yet to condemn Iranian death threats against Salman Rushdie.

From the MESA Committee on Academic Freedom (CAF) webpage: “If you learn of human rights violations, please contact a member of the CAF or the MESA Secretariat, supplying as much information as possible.”

I guess, in today’s polarized world of Middle East studies academe–much of it funded by the U.S. government–academic freedom extends only to those with the correct politics.