Dear Colleagues:
Many of us have long been aware of the problems within Middle East studies centers. Now in an effort to help end the biased Title VI Grants you can become a peer reviewer. Of late, SPME has learned about peer reviewing for federal Title VI grants to Middle East studies centers and I invite you to join me in helping end the federal support for politicized scholarship by applying to help this process.
For years, Title VI funds have supported biased, anti-American, anti-Israel programs with effectively no oversight from the federal Department of Education (ED). Peer reviewers have traditionally done little to curb these abuses.
By applying to review applications, you can help ensure that future grants will go only to those centers willing and able to promote rigorous, unbiased scholarship and outreach thereby, effecting change from within.
If selected, you would work within the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) to read and evaluate applications and score them on their qualifications for funding. Reviewers receive an honorarium, and travel costs to and from Washington are covered.
For information on applying to peer review: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/peer-reviewers/index.html
Answers to frequently asked questions regarding the qualifications and duties of peer reviewers are found here: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/peer-reviewers/peer-reviewers-faq.html
There is no deadline to apply, but you must create an account (login to G5 in bureaucratic parlance) here: https://www.g5.gov/g5/home?g5.parameters.errorcode=&g5.parameters.error=&g5.parameters.username=unauthenticated
On a separate note, as the State of Israel marks its 70th we are observing a significant growth in antisemitism globally where European Jews, “are experiencing a normalization and mainstreaming of antisemitism not seen since the Second World War.” Moreover, according to Moshe Kantor the President of European Jewish Congress, “there has been an increase in open, unashamed and explicit hatred directed against Jews. The Jew as exploiter, the Jew as killer, the Jews as banker. It is like we have regressed 100 years.”
Clearly there is much to be done.
Sincerely,
Asaf Romirowsky
