Letter from American Federation of Ramallah Palestine to President Schlissel

Identifier

ar_002

Title

Letter from American Federation of Ramallah Palestine to President Schlissel

Description

Letter from American Federation of Ramallah Palestine to President Schlissel requesting a meeting to discuss developments pertaining to Palestine/Israel and Professor John Cheney-Lippold.

Creator

Terry Ahwal

Amer Zahr

American Federation of Ramallah Palestine

Subject

Arab Americans -- Michigan -- Ann Arbor

Arab-Israeli conflict

Islam

Islamophobia -- Michigan

Islamophobia -- Michigan -- Ann Arbor

Middle Eastern students -- Michigan -- Ann Arbor

Student organizations -- Michigan -- Ann Arbor

University of Michigan -- Faculty

University of Michigan -- Students

Source

https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/149378

Publisher

Islamophobia Working Group (University of Michigan) records

Spatial Coverage

University of Michigan -- Ann Arbor

Westland, Michigan

Date

2018-10-11

Type

text

Format

text/PDF 124 kB

Rights

This content may be under copyright. Researchers are responsible for determining the appropriate use or reuse of materials.

Rights Holder

Copyright is held by the Regents of the University of Michigan but the collection may contain third-party materials for which copyright is not held. Patrons are responsible for determining the appropriate use or reuse of materials.

Language

Eng

Provenance

Letter originally written by American Federation of Ramallah Palestine. Letter was later saved (without alteration) by the Islamophobia Working Group (University of Michigan) on 2019-01-28 to be compiled with a larger collection on letters in support of Professor John Cheney-Lippold.

Bibliographic Citation

[item], https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/149377, Islamophobia Working Group (University of Michigan) records, Bentley Historical Library,
University of Michigan

extracted text

Dr. Mark S. Schlissel
President2074 Fleming Administration Bldg.
503 Thompson Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1340

Dear Dr. Schlissel:
The American Federation of Ramallah, Palestine (AFRP), with over 40,000
members, and the New Generation for Palestine (NGP) kindly request a meeting with
you to discuss various developments pertaining to Palestine/Israel.
We read with concern your statement regarding John Cheney-Lippold, the Associate
Professor who refused to provide a student recommendation letter for study in Israel,
and subsequent disciplinary actions taken in this matter.
Michigan holds one of the largest Palestinian-American communities in the nation.
Thousands of Palestinian Americans and Arab Americans are proud UM students
and alumni. In this time of rancor, it is imperative for you to approach this issue from
various perspectives. For many decades, our voices have been ignored or dismissed
- usually with accusations of anti-Semitism - anytime we discuss the actions of the
Israeli occupation. It is important that we discuss this and other issues with you. We
feel that our community was not consulted on this matter.
The University of Michigan has a storied history of standing up for civil rights in
America, opposing the war in Vietnam, and rising against apartheid in South Africa.
We feel it is imperative that we open a dialogue to discuss actions that stifle freedom
of expression regarding Israel.
We wholeheartedly believe that anti-Semitism, xenophobia, religious intolerance are
despicable and abhorrent, and we stand with anyone who fights these ills. We worry,
however, that moral stands with Palestinian victims are irresponsibly punished,
silenced and wrongfully accused of being anti-Semitic. This should be of concern to
all.
We are available to meet with you as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Terry Ahwal
Former President, current Board Member, American Federation of Ramallah
Palestine
Amer Zahr
President, New Generation for Palestine
cc. Mr. George Habeeb