Sai Englert, Lecturer, Leiden University (22 January 2023)

22 January 2023

Dear President Martha E. Pollack,
Dear Provost Michael I. Kotlikoff,
Dear Deputy Provost and Presidential Advisor for Diversity and Equity Avery August,
Dear Dean of Faculty Eve De Rosa, 
Dear Dean Meejin J. Yoon, 

I am writing you to express my support for Assistant Professor Dr. Samia Henni, whose academic freedom and safety have come under recent and deeply worrying attack at Cornell University.

After three months of criminal investigation, Cornell University administration announced that the books and folders in Dr. Henni’s office fell off the shelf. Given that the shelf was still up on the wall and the books and folders were unevenly scattered over the desk and floor, Cornell narrative challenges the well-known theory of the universal force of gravity.

Moreover, there was no explanation on the disappearance of items and documents from Dr. Henni’s office, as well as on the window of her office that was reported to be found wide open. Creating this dubious narrative and closing the unresolved investigation is an attack on Dr. Henni and many others, especially women and people of colour.

I urge you, as senior members of Cornell University’s administration, to immediately reopen the criminal investigation, and guarantee a safe workplace for Dr Henni. I also encourage you in the strongest possible terms to condemn the attacks on Dr. Henni publicly. This basic show of institutional support will prevent further discrimination against Dr. Henni herself, as well as women of colour, and defend the promises of antiracist agenda at Cornell, in the United States, and elsewhere.

Sincerely,

—

Sai Englert
Lecturer, Leiden University

Latest Publications: 

– Sai Englert (2022), ‘The Privatization of the Port of Haifa Is a Move to Make Political Allies for Israel’, Jacobin, 26/08, https://jacobin.com/2022/08/haifa-port-deal-india-israel-modi.

– Sai Englert (2022), ‘East Mediterranean Natural Gas: A Lubricant for Israel’s Regional Integration’, AUB Critical Development Blog, https://www.aub.edu.lb/critical-development/news/Pages/East_Mediterranean_Natural_Gas.aspx. Also available in Arabic: https://www.aub.edu.lb/critical-development/arabicnews/Pages/East_Mediterranean_Natural_Gas.aspx. Reposted on LeftEast: https://lefteast.org/east-mediterranean-natural-gas-israel/ 

– Sai Englert (2022), Settler Colonialism: An Introduction, London: Pluto Press, https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745344904/settler-colonialism/