Fourteen groups sent a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to bring more diversity to Middle East Studies grants.
“Our groups are concerned that federal funds under Title VI of the HEOA are being misused to promote biased, one-sided, and anti-Israel programming in our nation’s Middle East studies centers,” they wrote. “Congress sought to address this problem in 2008 by requiring that each recipient ‘reflect diverse perspectives and a wide range of views,’ among other provisions.”
“Nonetheless, many recipients of Title VI funds continue to support Middle East studies programs that provide only a monochromatic -and biased, anti-American, and anti-Israel-perspective.” The 14 groups are:
• Academic Council for Israel
• AMCHA Initiative
• American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (AAJLJ)
• American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA)
• American Jewish Committee (AJC)
• B’nai B’rith International
• Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET)
• IAC for Action
• The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (LDB)
• Middle East Forum
• Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME)
• Simon Wiesenthal Center
• StandWithUs (SWU)
• Zionist Organization of America (ZOA)
