Harvard University, under heavy protest, has reversed its rejection of?a fellowship for Kenneth Roth, a?former executive director of?Human Rights Watch, allegedly over his criticism of?Israel.

The dean of Harvard¡¯s Kennedy School, Douglas Elmendorf, announced the reversal of?his initial decision to?deny Mr?Roth the appointment, along with an?apology, in a note to?the school community.

¡°I now believe that I?made an error in my decision not to appoint him as a fellow at our Carr Center for Human Rights,¡± Professor Elmendorf writes. ¡°I?am sorry that the decision inadvertently cast doubt on the mission of the school and our commitment to open debate in ways I?had not intended and do?not believe to be true.¡±

The matter has become a focal point for debates in US higher education over donor influence in general and over that exercised by supporters of Israel in particular.

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The Carr Center¡¯s faculty director, Mathias Risse, has said that the centre invited Mr?Roth to serve as a fellow in April, after Mr?Roth announced his plans to retire by August from two decades leading Human Rights Watch.

But Professor Elmendorf rejected the appointment, a spokesman explained, ¡°as he sometimes decides not to make other proposed academic appointments, based on an evaluation of the candidate¡¯s potential contributions to the Kennedy School¡±.

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That prompted protests from hundreds of faculty and students at the Kennedy School, with some calling for Professor Elmendorf to resign as dean. The denial appeared to reflect Mr?Roth¡¯s criticism of Israel¡¯s treatment of Palestinians, making it an ¡°act of censorship and a threat to free expression and academic freedom¡±, the protesters wrote in one letter.

In his letter of reversal, Professor Elmendorf said ¡°the broader faculty input I?have now sought and received has persuaded me that my decision was not the best one for the school¡±.

The dean said the Kennedy School ¡°will extend an offer to Mr?Roth to serve as a fellow. I?hope that our community will be able to benefit from his deep experience in a wide range of human rights issues.¡±

After his rejection by Harvard, Mr?Roth accepted a visiting fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Mr Roth, in a statement posted to Twitter, said he was ¡°thrilled¡± by Professor Elmendorf¡¯s reversal and would accept the Harvard fellowship, but also chastised the dean for not being more forthcoming about the reasons behind his original decision against him.

¡°The problem of people penalised for criticising Israel is not limited to me, and most scholars and students have no comparable capacity to mobilise public attention,¡± Mr?Roth wrote.

The Harvard protest occurred as students at the University of Chicago have been protesting against a course hosted by Meir Elran, a veteran general in the Israeli army, ¡°Security, Counter-Terrorism, and Resilience: The Israeli Case¡±.

A group calling itself University of Chicago Students for Justice in Palestine called the course a matter of ¡°indoctrinating US students with the mindset and worldview of the Israeli military¡±.

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Dr Elran told Times Higher Education that he was not interested in debating the matter. ¡°Demanding boycott of academic activities is unacceptable as a means for public discourse,¡± he said.

paul.basken@timeshighereducation.com