issue 318
Student Protest and the Politics of Palestine in Egypt
In October 2023, two weeks after Israel launched a brutal assault on Gaza, the Egyptian government permitted the first sizable protests in support of Palestine. At Benha University, about 30 miles north of Cairo in the Nile Delta, students and university administrators joined together in what the university described in
The Palestine Test for German Universities
In February 2025, Freie Universität Berlin (FUB) cancelled a planned lecture by Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. The university cited polarization and security risks after intense political pressure from Berlin’s governing mayor and several pro-Israel advocacy groups. To
Fighting the Campus Crackdown—Why the Middle East Studies Association Took the Trump Administration to Court
On March 25, 2025, the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), together with the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and represented by the Knight First Amendment Institute, sued the Trump administration for its policy of targeting noncitizen students and scholars for their pro-Palestinian speech. MESA is the largest scholarly association
After the Encampments—A Roundtable with Student Organizers on Palestine, the University and What Comes Next
For issue 318, Campus Politics—Palestine and the New University Order, MERIP editorial committee member Maya Wind organized a roundtable with six student activists representing five student collectives from Europe and the United States: Marilù with Collettivi Autorganizzati Universitari (Italy); Marie with Stop Academic Complicity Collective (France); Aesop with KCL
‘The University Is a Site of Struggle’—A Roundtable with Faculty Organizers on Repression and Resistance on US Campuses
As part of MER issue 318, Campus Politics—Palestine and the New University Order, MERIP editor Lisa Hajjar organized a roundtable with faculty organizers and a legal advocate. Lara Deeb is professor of Anthropology and Middle East Studies at Scripps College and serves as co-chair of the Middle East StudiesIssue 318 (Spring 2026) Masthead
Middle East Report, “Campus Politics—Palestine and the New University Order,” Spring 2026, No. 318, Vol. 55 No. 1 Executive Director James Ryan jamesryan@merip.org Executive Editor Billie Jeanne Brownlee bbrownlee@merip.org Managing Editor Marya Hannun maryahannun@merip.org Senior Staff Editor & Photo Editor Michelle Woodward mwoodward@
