Committee of Concerned Scientists

An international non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

An independent non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

Hebrew University professor arrested and released

Professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, the Lawrence D. Biele Chair in Law at the Faculty of Law Institute of Criminology of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of incitement and released the following day. The court found the charges did not justify the arrest and believes she does not pose a danger.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/judge-releases-arab-hebrew-university-professor-arrested-for-incitement/

Yariv Levin
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice
Ministry of Justice
29 Salah A-Din
Jerusalem 9711052
ISRAEL
Email: sar@justice.gov.il

Dear Minister Levin,

The Committee of Concerned Scientists is a fifty-year-old independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers, and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world.

We are writing to express our dismay and concern about the treatment of Professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, the Lawrence D. Biele Chair in Law at the Faculty of Law Institute of Criminology and the School of Social Work and Public Welfare, by the Jerusalem police. According to reports, she was arrested on April 18, 2024 and subjected to harsh and inhumane interrogation for peacefully expressing her opinion about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She was released the following day after the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court rejected justification for her arrest and the police request to extend her detention.

Dr. Shalhoub-Kevorkian is an internationally renowned scholar, author of numerous books and research articles, member of several editorial boards, and recipient of international awards. Her opinion on certain issues may disagree with that of the Israeli government and police officials, as well as with the views of other scholars and members of this Committee. However, arresting her for peacefully expressing her views is unbecoming of a democratic country and is tarnishing the reputation of Israel abroad.

We applaud the decision of the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court to release Professor Shalhoub-Kevorkian and we urge you to implement measures that would not allow the repetition of such incidents in the future.

Sincerely,
https://concernedscientists.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024-Co-Chairs-Signatures-scaled.jpg
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

CC:
Professor Asher Cohen, President of the Hebrew University, hupres@savion.huji.ac.il

Professor Tamir Sheafer, Rector of Hebrew University, rector@savion.huji.ac.il

Who We Are

Co-chairs

Joel L. Lebowitz, Rutgers University

Walter Reich, George Washington University

Eugene Chudnovsky, Lehman College

Alexander Greer, Brooklyn College

Vice-chairs

Biology – Max E. Gottesman, Columbia University

Chemistry – Zafra Lerman, MIMSAD Inc.

Computer Science – Rachelle Heller, The George Washington University

Engineering – Philip Sarachik, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Computer Science – Jack Minker, University of Maryland, College Park

Mathematics – Simon Levin, Princeton University

Honorary Board Members

Nancy Andrews, Duke University

Myles Axton, Chief Editor, Genetics and Genomics Next

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology*

Alan J. Bard, University of Texas

David Gross, University of California, Santa Barbara*

James Langer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Peter Lax, New York University

Giorgio Parisi, Roma I University La Sapienza

John C. Polanyi, University of Toronto*

Stuart Rice, University of Chicago

Sir Richard J. Roberts, New England Biolabs*

Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University

Myrna Weissman, Columbia University

Former Honorary Board Members

Jacob Bigeleisen (deceased), SUNY, Stony Brook

Raoul Bott (deseased) Harvard University

Owen Chamberlain (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Deser (deceased), Brandeis University

Edward Gerjuoy (deceased), University of Pittsburgh

Pierre Hohenberg (deceased), New York University

Walter Kohn (deceased), University of California, Santa Barbara*

Louis Nirenberg (deceased), New York University

Marshall Nirenberg (deceased), National Institutes of Health*

Myriam Sarachick (deceased), City College of New York

Harold Scheraga (deceased), Cornell University

Sylvan Schweber (deceased), Brandeis University

Steven Weinberg (deceased), University of Texas, Austin*

Rosalyn S. Yalow (deceased), Mount Sinai School of Medicine*

* Nobel laureate

Committee of Concerned Scientists

c/o Alexandra R. Bender, Executive Director
P.O. Box 273
Mountainhome, PA 18342
abender@concernedscientists.org