University President Frederick Lawrence is in talks with members of the administration at Al-Quds University to discuss re-establishing the partnership between the two schools, according to Senior Vice President for Communications Ellen de Graffenreid. De Graffenreid wrote in an email to the Justice that Lawrence and members of Al-Quds' administration are currently looking at possible "next steps" with the "ultimate goal of re-establishing a partnership."

Lawrence announced the decision to suspend the partnership in November, following the release of a Nov. 17 letter from Al-Quds University President Sari Nusseibeh addressing a demonstration on its campus earlier that month, during which participants allegedly donned black military garb and fake weapons while making Nazi-style gestures. According to Lawrence in a Nov. 18, 2013 BrandeisNOW press release, Nusseibeh's letter responding to the rally was "unacceptable and inflammatory." Nusseibeh was also suspended from the advisory board of the Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life. However, a resolution from the advisory board released on Dec. 9, 2013, called for both Brandeis and Al-Quds to take steps to reinstate the partnership and lift Nusseibeh's suspension from the board.

According to de Graffenreid, "there is no specific timetable" for re-establishing the partnership.

"[T]hese processes often require a high degree of flexibility in terms of providing adequate time for discussion," she wrote.

On Dec. 9, 2013, Director of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life Daniel Terris and Profs. Susan Lanser (ENG) and Daniel Kryder (POL) released a report examining the demonstration itself and Al-Quds' response. The professors were asked by the administration to investigate the situation at Al-Quds during a trip that had been scheduled before the demonstration took place.

Their report concluded that Al-Quds acted quickly and appropriately in response to the rally and that the University should work to restore its relationship with Al-Quds.

Though Lawrence was traveling in India at the time of the report's release, he has since read the report and has been in "regular contact" with the authors, according to de Graffenreid.

"He is grateful for their firsthand perspective and for the significant effort that they have put into the writing and sharing of the report," she wrote.

In an email to the Justice, Terris wrote that the report will be discussed at the next faculty meeting but declined to comment on the current status of the University's discussions with Al-Quds until then.

De Graffenreid echoed a similar sentiment. "The University plans to keep the lines of communication open and to continue to exchange information with Al-Quds University's administration," she wrote.

"These are sensitive issues that need to be discussed between the two institutions and not in the public media."
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