Türkiye slams Harvard over firing of Ottoman scholar
ANKARA, Turkiye (MNTV) – Türkiye has strongly condemned the removal of renowned Ottoman historian Prof. Cemal Kafadar from his position as chair of Harvard University’s Center for Middle East Studies, describing the move as part of a broader campaign to silence critics of Israeli policies under the guise of combating antisemitism.
In a sharply worded statement on Saturday, Türkiye’s Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun decried what he called “systematic efforts by pro-Israel groups to silence voices who respect human life and dignity in Palestine.”
He said such actions had now reached leading U.S. universities including Harvard, Columbia, and Tufts.
“The latest target of Zionist McCarthyism has been Prof. Cemal Kafadar, a world-renowned Ottoman historian,” Altun declared. “He has been removed based on clearly false and blatantly broad accusations of antisemitism.”
Cemal Kafadar, born in Istanbul in 1954, holds the prestigious Professorship of History at Harvard and is widely respected in academic circles for his work on Ottoman and Middle Eastern history. His dismissal from the leadership of the Middle East Studies Center has sparked concern about academic freedom and the politicization of university governance in the United States.
Altun argued that American universities, long hailed as bastions of free thought and expression, are increasingly yielding to pressure when it comes to criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the West Bank.
“The entire world has witnessed a genocide in Palestine,” Altun said, referencing Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. “Students, professors, and people of conscience have raised their voices against ethnic cleansing, occupation, and war. Yet, allies of the Netanyahu government in the West have pursued a witch hunt against such intellectual bravery.”
He went on to accuse the U.S. government of exerting pressure on universities and removing individuals from the country based on their pro-Palestinian views. Such actions, Altun said, contradict the democratic ideals of freedom of thought and conscience that the U.S. claims to uphold.
“Under President Erdoğan’s leadership, we have always fought against antisemitism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia,” the statement noted. “We categorically reject any attempt to depict pro-Palestine activism as antisemitism. There is no place for hate in our societies.”
Ankara’s intervention comes amid growing global criticism of Western institutions for what many see as their failure to protect academic freedom and freedom of expression in the context of Israel-Palestine debates. The Turkish government called on U.S. and European academic institutions “to stand against unreasonable and extremist requests to target international students and scholars based on their opinions or activism.”
Altun concluded by warning that the silencing of peaceful dissent threatens fundamental human values: “Zionist groups have long recognized that they have lost the battle for hearts and minds in the eyes of public opinion. They are now resorting to silencing legitimate criticism and peaceful activism through despicable tactics. If they succeed, it will mean the betrayal of basic human values.”
The fate of Prof. Kafadar has now become emblematic of a larger global struggle over academic independence, freedom of speech, and the limits of acceptable discourse when it comes to Middle East politics.
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