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Show March 24, I960 Mr. Harold Minor President, American Friends of the M.isl., Inc. Washington, D.C. Dear Harold: I am very hap y to inform you -knowing, in vie* of your stated interest in the matter and your general interests, that you too will be h^ppy to know- that a proposal I formulated several months ago (copy attached) regarding research on the settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict has no* received, in principle, the potential spom orship of an outstanding University, and has inspired the competent authorities to think in terms of expanding this limited short-term project into a long-term Mddle h at Institute, should a relatively small amount of supplementary funds (up to a ceiling oi $5,000) be made available by an outside organization of good standing. In view of your remark last October that AFME may be Interested in considering a "subsidy" to a university or college which may be desirous of establishing a department of Middle Eastern studies or of initiating courses on the Middle East, but which may be in need of ^uch partial "subsidy," I thought I should bring the matter to your attention. The University in question is Stanford. Stanford now h s a project on international conflict, supported by the Ford Foundation, under the direction of Professor Robert C. North. Vhen Professor North earned of my project -through Professor Christine h rrls, to whom both Dr. Berger and I had written on the subject- he immediately expres ed keen interest in entrusting; me vith directing this project "under the administrative umbrella" of the vider program of vhich he is director. In subsequent correspond-nee, ne informed me that, -vhile the terras oi the Ford Foundation grant would not perrr.it his diverting directly any of its funas for my project, it nevertheless enables him to release other funds at his disposal, to the amount of approximately $ 5,000 for that purpose, to provide me with sponsorship, office space, research facilities, rese reh assistants, and sect tarial help, and to enable me to teach one or two courses or the Middle hast at Stanford - provided that the amount of $5,000 can be matched from outside sources. Still later, he added that: "My personal preference would be that you might come here in an academic capacity an; perhaps teach a course or tvo along vith your research. I vould hope that you vould be willing to take responsibility for directing the Arab-Israeli study under the broad administrative umbrella of the Conflict Project - taking full initiative for building a research program in your area of concern. If your study were capable of attracting further funds I vould like to see it grov, possibly, into some kind ol Middle Eastern institute under your direction." All these high hopes, the importance of vhich I need hardly emphasize, hinge |
