The issue of academic research on the Middle East has become a political flashpoint in the United States, where critics of Israel allege a “Palestine exception” exists when it comes to free speech rights.Case in point, recently a special edition of the prestigious Harvard Educational Review (HER) was in the works, entirely dedicated to the hot-button issue of the Palestinians — the articles had been painstakingly written, edited and approved.But authors said they received an unusual demand for a final readout by lawyers, which soon derailed their efforts.The publisher’s stunning late-stage decision to scrap the entire edition reflects the overheated political climate in the US where academic research on the Middle East has attracted accusations of so-called “wokeism” and “anti-Semitism” from President Donald Trump, as conflict rages in the region.The edition began taking shape when, in March 2024 — six months after the deadly October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel and the Israeli reprisals in the Gaza Strip — the renowned Harvard publication called for papers for a special issue on “Education and Palestine.” Anthropologist Thea Abu El-Haj and her colleagues submitted a paper on “scholasticide,” a term describing the destruction of an education system, like in Gaza, with reference to the experience of Palestinian teachers during the Lebanese Civil War between 1975 and 1990.But then the authors received phone calls informing them that the text would have to be submitted to Harvard’s Office of the General Counsel for a “risk assessment.””I have been publishing for decades in academic journals — including HER twice –and I have never been asked for this kind of review,” said El-Haj, a professor at Columbia University’s Barnard College.After the authors objected to “censorship,” the director of Harvard Education Press Jessica Fiorillo, told the authors the special issue had been cancelled in its entirety. – ‘Censorship’? -Fiorillo denied “censorship” in a memo to the authors, seen by AFP, blaming inadequate review because the editors insisted on limiting the publisher’s involvement to copyediting — without touching the “politically charged content.” “The only explanation that makes sense to me is that this is another instance of what has been called the ‘Palestine exception’ to free speech,” said El-Haj, accusing Harvard of not upholding free speech while proclaiming to champion it amid its fight with Trump.Since returning to power, Trump has accused prestigious US universities of anti-Semitism for failing to protect Jewish students during protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.In an escalating war of attrition against Harvard, Trump sought to cut more than $2.6 billion of funding to the Ivy League university, while seeking to block entry of international students — a quarter of its enrollment.Harvard said it had strengthened measures to protect Jewish and Israeli students while fighting the government’s measures in court. “The chilling climate for scholarly inquiry about Palestine at Harvard (and beyond) has been difficult for some time. Faculty, staff, and students have understandably felt a generalized cloud of fear and anxiety,” Margaret Litvin, an Arabic literature professor at Boston University, told AFP.At the start of the year, Harvard also adopted a definition of anti-Semitism used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).That definition is contested, however, as critics argue it may prevent criticism of Israel. That distinction appears to be at the heart of the furor over the “education and Palestine” edition of the HER, said Chandni Desai, a University of Toronto professor, who was supposed to pen an article for the journal. Harvard University did not comment. The submitted articles would “likely fail” to have passed the IHRA definition test because “all the pieces are critical of Israel,” Desai said.”We’ve never seen an entire special issue collection being canceled — especially after… contracts have been signed and reviews and revisions done.”

Time is running short for governments to strike deals with Washington to avert tariff hikes that Donald Trump has vowed against dozens of economies — and the US president continues to expand his trade wars.As the clock ticked down on a Friday deadline for higher levies to take effect on goods from various trading partners, Trump announced a trade deal with South Korea and separate duties on Brazilian and Indian imports.He also signed an order Wednesday to impose previously-threatened 50 percent tariffs on certain copper products and end a tariff exemption for low-value shipments from abroad.The tariff hikes due Friday were initially announced in April as part of a package where Trump slapped a 10 percent levy on goods from almost all trading partners — citing unfair trade practices.This rate was set to rise to varying levels for dozens of economies like the European Union, Japan and others, but Washington twice postponed their implementation as financial markets gyrated.So far, Britain, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, the EU and South Korea have reached initial deals with Washington to secure less punishing conditions.While the United States and China earlier slapped escalating tariffs on each other’s products, both sides are working to further a truce maintaining duties at lower levels.- ‘Big day’ -But Trump has been pushing ahead in his efforts to reshape global trade. The US leader insisted Wednesday that the August 1 deadline “will not be extended” any further.In a Truth Social post, he vowed that this would be “a big day for America.”Although Trump has promised a surge in government revenues from his duties, economists warn that higher tariffs can fuel an uptick in inflation and weigh on economic growth. This could change consumption patterns.Already, consumers face an overall average effective tariff rate that is the highest since the 1930s, according to a recent analysis by The Budget Lab at Yale University.The effect on consumer prices has been limited so far. But analysts cautioned this could become more pronounced as businesses run down on existing inventory and pass on more costs to buyers.- Tariff blitz, delays -Among Trump’s latest announcements were a 25 percent duty on Indian goods to begin Friday — slightly lower than previously threatened — after talks between Washington and New Delhi failed to bring about a trade pact.India would face an unspecified “penalty” over purchases of Russian weapons and energy as well, Trump said.He also unveiled a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian goods, saying its government’s policies and actions threaten US national security.But he delayed its implementation from Friday to August 6 and crucially exempted many products from the prohibitive levy, including orange juice, civil aircraft, iron ore and some energy products.Trump inked an order too for a 50 percent tariff to kick in Friday on goods like copper pipes and wiring, making good on an earlier vow to impose these duties.But the levy, which came after a Commerce Department probe on national security grounds, was less sweeping than anticipated.It left out products like copper ores, concentrates and cathodes, bringing some relief to industry.Meanwhile, Seoul landed a deal with Trump in which South Korean products would face a 15 percent tariff when entering the United States — significantly below a 25 percent level threatened.

Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas was arrested Wednesday along with five others on charges of running illegal “high-stakes” poker games at his mansion in the Los Angeles suburbs, US prosecutors said.The 43-year-old Arenas, who starred for the Washington Wizards, rented out the luxury home that he owned in Encino “for the purposes of hosting high-stakes illegal poker games” between September 2021 and July 2022, according to an indictment unsealed in Los Angeles.The indictment also alleges the gatherings included young women who received tips to “serve drinks, provide massages, and offer companionship” to players.Arenas is charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, one count of operating an illegal gambling business, and one count of making false statements to federal investigators.At his arraignment in federal court in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon, he pleaded not guilty and was released on $50,000 bond.US Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian set a trial date of September 23.Those arrested Wednesday also included 49-year-old Yevgeni Gershman, described as a suspected organized crime figure from Israel.According to the indictment, an associate of Arenas, Arthur Kats, staged the house for the poker games at his direction, recruited co-conspirators and collected rent on Arenas’s behalf.Gershman and the three other defendants allegedly ran the illegal “Pot Limit Omaha” poker games in which players were charged a “rake,” either a cut of each pot or a fee per hand.The women servers were allegedly required to pay some of their tips to the organizers, who also provided chefs, valets and armed guards.The indictment includes alleged texts between Arenas and Kats in which the games were set up.Authorities said that in November 2021, Arenas texted Kats a picture of a poker table with “ARENAS POKER CLUB” printed on it, along with an image of a basketball player with an “Arenas” jersey.If convicted, the defendants face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each count.Arenas, a three-time NBA All-Star, last played in the league in 2012 and played for the Shanghai Sharks in China in 2012-13.In December 2009 he was involved in an infamous incident with Washington teammate Javaris Crittenton in which both brought guns into the locker room. Arenas claims their dispute stemmed from a card game.Arenas pleaded guilty to felony gun possession and was suspended for the final 50 games of the 2009-2010 NBA season.