Letter in Support of Lara Sheehi

The editors of the peer-reviewed journal Studies in Gender and Sexuality are appalled by the treatment of our colleague and co-editor Professor Lara Sheehi. We are writing to express our unwavering respect and support for her and her invaluable professional work.

In January 2023, StandWithUs, a right-wing pro-Israel advocacy group filed a Title VI complaint with the U.S. Department of Education, targeting Dr. Sheehi and alleging antisemitism at George Washington University. Numerous professional organizations have come to Dr. Sheehi’s defense, and the editors of SGS urge our readers to read her own words here, that eloquently describe the timeline of events and tactics being used that threaten both herself and her family: counterpunch.org

Having worked with Professor Sheehi for over a decade, we know well that the accusations against her for anti-Semitism are completely spurious. Accusing academics and scholars of being anti-Semitic are well known tactics of the pro-Israel group StandWithUs, that, as Jewish Voice for Peace describes, conflates support for Palestinian people and critiques of the Israeli government with anti-Semitism. Even the Department of Education weighed in to make it clear this is not the definition of anti-Semitism. Still they continue to target and harass academics and scholars, including not only the proliferation of damning misinformation about them, but actually fomenting threats of violence and death toward them and their families. This approach is designed to silence and to destroy not only academic, but all freedom of speech. That Dr. Sheehi, a highly respected scholar and teacher, and her family are forced to experience these threats is unconscionable. As her home institution, it is incumbent upon GWU to respond to threats of violence against their own faculty.

Dr. Sheehi is an outstandingly ethical teacher and scholar. Her commitment to social justice and working toward the liberation of P