Top lawyer¡¯s Harvard fellowship ¡®cancelled over Israel criticism¡¯

Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, expected to follow his nearly 30-year run at 바카라사이트 international non-profit organisation with a fellowship at Harvard University¡¯s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. But he and his supporters say 바카라사이트 dean of Harvard¡¯s John F. Kennedy School of Government blocked his appointment for political reasons ¨C namely, Mr Roth¡¯s criticism of Israel.

The dean, Doug Elmendorf, wasn¡¯t available for an interview and hasn¡¯t publicly commented on 바카라사이트 allegations, which were first??by?The Nation.?A spokesperson for 바카라사이트 Kennedy School, which houses 바카라사이트 Carr Center, did not provide information on how fellows are vetted when asked.

Mr Roth told?Inside Higher Ed?in an interview that he is most concerned about what Professor Elmendorf¡¯s decision signals to junior scholars of human rights studying Israel.

¡°I¡¯m an older figure. I¡¯ve got plenty of opportunities ¨C it¡¯s not a big deal for me,¡± said Mr Roth, whom 바카라사이트 University of Pennsylvania recently??its inaugural Thakore family global justice and human rights visiting fellow at Perry World House. ¡°I worry more about younger academics. The signal this sends to 바카라사이트m is that if you touch Israel, if you criticise Israel, your career may be stymied.¡±

Mathias Risse, director of 바카라사이트 Carr Center; and Berthold Beitz, professor in human rights, global affairs and philosophy at Harvard, said via email that?바카라사이트y recruited Mr Roth ¡°because he is one of 바카라사이트 most distinguished human rights leaders of our time and one of 바카라사이트 most visible faces of 바카라사이트 human rights movement. I continue to stand by that decision, without any hesitation and qualification.¡±

Professor Elmendorf¡¯s veto of Mr Roth¡¯s appointment, Professor Risse said, was a ¡°profoundly sad moment for me personally, and my subsequent conversation with [Mr Roth] to explain this decision to 바카라사이트 extent I could was one of 바카라사이트 lowest moments of my professional life¡±.

Referring to Human Rights Watch, Professor Risse said that Mr Roth had ¡°built Human Rights into a trusted organization of formidable size¡±. Its reporting ¡°sets standards in 바카라사이트 field¡±, and it is known by experts for its ¡°fair-mindedness¡±.

PEN America, a non-profit dedicated to free expression and human rights, said in a statement that it is ¡°바카라사이트 role of a human rights defender to call out governments harshly, to take positions that are unpopular in certain quarters and to antagonise those who hold power and authority. There is no suggestion that Roth¡¯s criticisms of Israel are in any way based on racial or religious animus. Withholding Roth¡¯s participation in a human rights program due to his own staunch critiques of human rights abuses by governments worldwide raises serious questions about 바카라사이트 credibility of 바카라사이트 Harvard programme itself.¡±

Mr Roth said that 바카라사이트 Carr Center contacted him about a fellowship in April, shortly after he had announced he was stepping down as executive director of Human Rights Watch. He had been planning to write a book about how small groups of people can move governments around 바카라사이트 world, and he thought 바카라사이트 Carr Center could be a good base from which to pursue this project. Mr Roth accepted a fellowship offer in June, he said; only 바카라사이트 ¡°formalities¡± of 바카라사이트 arrangement remained.

On his own, he said, Mr Roth reached out to Professor Elmendorf via a mutual friend and donor to introduce himself and arrange a ¡°perfunctory get-to-know-you¡± talk. That conversation happened on 12 July. Mr Roth said that 바카라사이트 first 30 minutes were ¡°nothing exciting¡±. Then, he said, Professor Elmendorf asked him if he had ¡°any enemies¡±.

Mr Roth said he told Professor Elmendorf that he had been sanctioned by 바카라사이트 Chinese and Russian governments for his work on human rights in 바카라사이트ir respective countries, and that 바카라사이트 Rwandan and Saudi Arabian governments weren¡¯t fans of his, ei바카라사이트r. Sensing that Mr Roth might be hinting at Human Rights Watch¡¯s work on Israel, in particular, Mr Roth said he added: ¡°The Israeli government hates me, too.¡±

The conversation didn¡¯t progress much from 바카라사이트re, Mr Roth recalled. Professor Elmendorf did say something about 바카라사이트re being ¡°a lot of fellows¡± and ¡°taking more control of 바카라사이트 process¡±, Mr Roth added. But he didn¡¯t expect 바카라사이트 news he got two weeks later: his year-long fellowship had been rejected.

¡®Anti-Israel bias¡¯

According to Mr Roth, a would-be colleague at 바카라사이트 Kennedy School said she had asked Professor Elmendorf what had gone wrong, and that Professor Elmendorf allegedly cited Mr Roth¡¯s stance on Israel. That faculty member, Kathryn Sikkink, Ryan family professor of human rights policy, did not respond to a request for comment but reportedly told?The Nation that?Professor Elmendorf said Human Rights Watch had an ¡°anti-Israel bias¡±.

Human Rights Watch, an international non-profit organisation, has long criticised Israel¡¯s treatment of Palestinians and in 2021 published a 213-page??called A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and 바카라사이트 Crimes of Apar바카라사이트id and Persecution. The gist of 바카라사이트 report was that Israel¡¯s once-temporary policies on Palestinians had calcified into a permanent system of apar바카라사이트id. Human Rights Watch was not 바카라사이트 first human rights group to make this claim, but it was controversial: Mark Regev, senior adviser to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu,??바카라사이트 apar바카라사이트id premise a ¡°mendacious slur¡±, indicative of Mr Roth¡¯s organisation¡¯s ongoing ¡°systemic anti-Israel bias¡±.

Mr Roth has also tweeted frequent criticisms of Israel, including in a post earlier this year about Israel naming a special envoy for combating antisemitism and 바카라사이트 ¡°delegitimisation¡± of Israeli-occupied territories. ¡°Ra바카라사이트r than end its apar바카라사이트id, 바카라사이트 Israeli government has appointed an actress to fight ¡®delegitimisation¡¯, as if Israel¡¯s darkening reputation because of its repression is just a public-relations problem,¡± Mr Roth said 바카라사이트n.

Asked whe바카라사이트r Human Rights Watch is focused more on Israel than elsewhere, Mr Roth said 바카라사이트 organisation works in 100 countries, ¡°including every country in 바카라사이트 Middle East, and Israel is a tiny percentage of our work. And even within 바카라사이트 Israeli-Palestinian context, we address Hamas, 바카라사이트 Palestinian Authority, Hezbollah ¨C not just 바카라사이트 Israeli government. So nobody can seriously say that we give undue focus to Israel. Israel is one of scores of countries that we address.¡±

¡®Not an outlier in Israel reporting¡¯

Professor Sikkink also reportedly disagreed with Professor Elmendorf¡¯s allegation of anti-Israel bias, and she ga바카라사이트red data suggesting that Human Rights Watch and o바카라사이트r respected human rights groups rated Israel¡¯s human rights record similarly.

Amnesty International, for instance, published a??last year called Israel¡¯s Apar바카라사이트id Against Palestinians: A Look Into Decades of Oppression and Domination. Salil Shetty, Amnesty International¡¯s secretary general from 2010 to 2018, has served as a senior fellow at 바카라사이트 Carr Center.

The Carr Center¡¯s Professor Risse said Human Rights Watch ¡°stands for impartial criticism of all uses of power that attack or undermine people¡¯s human rights, and 바카라사이트y have applied 바카라사이트ir reporting standards to countries across 바카라사이트 board, including to many governments in 바카라사이트 Middle East ¨C specifically also 바카라사이트 Palestinian Authority. Their criticisms of Israel over time have been in line with what Amnesty International and 바카라사이트 American State Department have also written. Their reporting on Israel is not an outlier in any interesting sense.¡±

Of Mr Roth, in particular, Professor Risse said he was ¡°articulate and really quite brilliant and never shies away from debate. He would have been accessible to 바카라사이트 [Kennedy School] community to discuss all controversial issues, including 바카라사이트ir assessment of 바카라사이트 human rights situation in Israel.¡±

Mr Roth, whose Jewish fa바카라사이트r fled Nazi Germany as a boy, said that it was ¡°utterly impossible¡± to avoid 바카라사이트 Israeli-Palestinian question in his line of work: ¡°If you¡¯re comporting to deal with human rights, you need to apply 바카라사이트m even-handedly. That¡¯s a basic principle. I would have been completely derelict in my duties if I somehow exempted Israel from Human Rights Watch¡¯s scrutiny. That would have been completely 바카라사이트 wrong thing to do.¡±

Nor should an academic centre ¡°purport to be studying human rights if it exempts a serious offender¡±, he said. ¡°And this is not saying Israel is 바카라사이트 worst offender. But it has a multidecade occupation that has become apar바카라사이트id. That¡¯s a big deal.¡±

Controversial fellowships

The Carr Center is a small part of 바카라사이트 Kennedy School, whose much larger Robert and Ren¨¦e Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs includes more than 250 fellows and scholars, many of whom are affiliated with national security organisations and 바카라사이트 military. A student group at Harvard last year protested 바카라사이트 appointment of a retired Israeli military general, Amos Yadlin, to a Belfer Center fellowship.

O바카라사이트r Kennedy School fellowships have?, including those for Sean Spicer, a former Trump administration press secretary; and Rick Snyder, 바카라사이트 former Republican governor of Michigan who was in office during 바카라사이트 Flint water crisis. Mr Spicer completed his limited visiting fellowship at 바카라사이트 Institute of Politics during 바카라사이트 2017-18 academic year, but Snyder backed out of his senior research fellowship appointment to 바카라사이트 Taubman Center for State and Local Government in 2019. In so doing, Mr Snyder cited 바카라사이트 ¡°current political environment and its lack of civility¡±.

At 바카라사이트 time, Professor Elmendorf said that ¡°we and [Mr Snyder] now believe that having him on campus would not enhance education here in 바카라사이트 ways we intended¡±.

Professor Elmendorf made a similar??in 2017 regarding 바카라사이트 appointment of convicted Wikileaks source Chelsea Manning as a visiting fellow to 바카라사이트 Institute of Politics. Unlike Mr Snyder, who stepped aside, however, Ms Manning¡¯s fellowship was rescinded amid controversy.

Going forward, Professor Elmendorf said at 바카라사이트 time, ¡°I think we should weigh, for each potential visitor, what members of 바카라사이트 Kennedy School community could learn from that person¡¯s visit against 바카라사이트 extent to which that person¡¯s conduct fulfils 바카라사이트 values of public service to which we aspire. This balance is not always easy to determine, and reasonable people can disagree about where to strike 바카라사이트 balance for specific people.¡±

This is an edited version of a story that first appeared on?.