Dr. Ed Beck, Walden University and President Emeritus of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Mohammed Saif-Alden Wattad, to the newly forming SPME Legal Task Force Chaired by Dr. Kenneth Marcus Ackerman Professor of Social Policy, Baruch College, CUNY.
Dr. Wattad is a graduate of Haifa University School of Law (LL.B, 2003), and holds a Masters in Law from the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (LL.M, 2004). He served as a Legal Clerk at the Supreme Court of Israel, under the supervision of Justice Dalia Dorner (2003-2004). Another Masters in Law and a Doctorate in Law (JSD) he received from Columbia University School of Law in New York (2007). Dr. Wattad holds a Post-Doctorate from the Max-Planck Institute in Germany, as a Minerva Fellow (2007/2008) and another Post-Doctorate from the Faculty of Law at Toronto University as a Halbert Fellow of the Munk Center (2006/2007). Dr. Wattad was graduated with honors from every school he attended. Among his legal education and fields of expertise, Dr. Wattad is an expert in International and Comparative Criminal law, Comparative Constitutional Law, International Law, the Laws of War, Torture and Terrorism. Besides his formal legal education, Dr. Wattad has received informal high education in History, Philosophy and Political Science. His research in these fields includes the history of the state of Israel and comparative questions on self-image and identity in multi-cultural societies. His academic views were expressed through his numerous academic publications and other academic conferences he attended.
In addition to his academic experience, Dr. Wattad has been speaking publically, as an intellectual, already for 5 years, on issues related to contemporary conflicts in the world. In particular, he addresses contemporary dilemmas regarding the Middle East in general and Israel’s external and internal affairs in particular. His views on these issues Dr. Wattad conveyed clearly during the last 5 years through written and electronic media, as well as through numerous public speeches and academic articles.
These days,. Among his leading writings are his very provocative article on “A Vision of Citizenship” and speech on “A Vision of Peace & Reconciliation.” In these two pieces, he tangles elegantly with the very delicate internal and external affairs of the state of Israel, as for the internal relations between Israel’s Jewish and Arab citizens, and as for Israel’s external relations with other surrounding Arab states.
Commenting on Dr. Wattad’s appointment, Dr. Marcus commented, “The Legal Task Force will be greatly strengthened not only by Dr. Wattad’s expertise in international and comparative criminal and constitutional law, but also by the courage that he has shown in exploring difficult and controversial intellectual, political and legal issues. Both qualities will be indispensable as we examine such matters as anti-Semitism in higher education, the misuse of Title VI funds, and the parameters of academic freedom.”
Beck added, ” SPME is extremely fortunate to have such a young and internationally distinguished colleague to serve on this task force as we look at and take on these important issues. We welcome the perspectives that Dr. Wattad brings and look forward to his contributions.”
