The Christian Science Monitor

Controversy in California over ‘neutral’ Middle East history

American colleges and universities are grappling with how to address wildly varying viewpoints of the Israel-Hamas war, amid mounting tensions and incidents of violence in educational communities. 

As part of a slate of initiatives, one major university system said it will develop programming with a “viewpoint-neutral history of the Middle East.” But the recent move by the University of California stirred more controversy than it relieved – with strong pushback from professors concerned about sacrificing academic freedom.

More than 150 UC professors to the UC president taking issue with the idea of viewpoint-neutral programs as a way to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia. The president’s office responded by clarifying the

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