Letter to the Editor from Executive Director of the Fulbright Association

NYTimes
Palestinian Students
Published: June 12, 2008
To the Editor:

While the outcry over Palestinian Fulbright recipients whose grants were temporarily rescinded has prompted the Israeli government to revisit its ban on Palestinians leaving Gaza for study in other countries, the policy shift needs to go further and move more quickly.

According to Gisha, an Israeli not-for-profit organization that seeks to protect the freedom of movement of Gaza residents and other Palestinians, hundreds of Palestinian students lost their places in universities abroad last year. Hundreds more may do so this year without radical change.

Fulbright Association members, current and former Fulbright grant recipients, believe that international educational exchange is vital to peaceful and cooperative relations between peoples, as well as to participants’ personal development. Students in Gaza who have earned scholarships to pursue their education abroad deserve the opportunity to take up their studies so they can contribute to their society and to our world.

Jane L. Anderson
Executive Director
Fulbright Association
Washington, June 7, 2008