I protest the decision by the White House to exclude students of Ariel University from attending the Jerusalem Convention Hall Meeting between President Obama and students from all of Israel’s Universities. Ariel University’s doors are open to Jews and Arabs, its teachers do not incite or propagate disinformation or misinformation and, from everything I have heard, they are committed to all the norms of truth and open inquiry in their academic classrooms. I would like to believe  these norms are adhered to in other Universities in the West Bank and Gaza.
Whatever term one uses to describe the land on which Ariei University sits (West Bank? Disputed Territories? Judea and Samaria? Occupied Territories?), the ban excludes individuals on the basis of who they are, not what they do  — a recognized violation of human rights and an early warning sign of possibly worse to come .
President Obama, revoke the disgraceful and ethically flawed decision to ban students from Ariel University from participating in the meeting with Israel’s University Students.

Professor Elihu D Richter, MD MPH
Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Public Heath
and Community Medicine