Professor Shibley Telhami (University of Maryland) and Professor Marc Lynch (George Washington University), co-directors of the Middle East Scholar Barometer, released two articles on the latest findings from the May-June 2024 survey. The first article, which appears in the Chronicle of Higher Education, tackles perceptions of the crisis on American campuses that has been driven by the ongoing war in Israel and Gaza. The second, published by the Brookings Institution, is about perceptions of the war itself, its aims, and the Biden administration's handling of the war.

Some of the key findings in the first article include:

• Over 80% of the US-based scholars surveyed say they continue to self-censor when discussing the Israeli/Palestinian issue professionally, overwhelmingly self-censoring criticism of Israel
• Most respondents do not see Islamophobia or antisemitism to be driving the pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Instead, a majority of respondents see the Pro-Israel demonstrations as either showing support for Israel's response in Gaza (30%) or protesting anti-Israeli sentiments on campus (27%), while the Pro-Palestinian demonstrations were mainly seen as protesting Israeli actions in Gaza (51%) and Biden's support for these actions (31%)
• Overwhelmingly, respondents are critical of President Biden's handling of the campus crisis with nearly three-quarters saying it was negative for advancing free speech and a healthy campus environment, over two-thirds saying it was negative for protecting Muslim and Arab students on campus, and more respondents saying it made Jewish students less safe than more safe.

Read the full Chronicle article

Some key takeaways from the second article include:

• As the Biden administration is touting the prospect of a two-state solution after the Gaza war, few scholars (7%) believe that it is possible and probable in the next 10 years.
• Most scholars surveyed believe that the war is likely to result in new large-scale displacement of Palestinians out of the West Bank and/or Gaza.
• About a third of the scholars described Israeli actions in Gaza to constitute genocide with another 41% saying it is 'major war crimes akin to genocide'.
• Respondents see dark Israeli motives in Gaza, with a majority saying Israel aims to make Gaza uninhabitable in order to force Palestinians out of the territory.
• Respondents hold very critical views of the Biden administration's handling of the war, with over three-quarters saying it would have negative implications for US interests in the Middle East, US standing in the world, and advancing peace in Israel/Palestine.

Read the full Brookings article