On 10 Feb 2025, at 6:43 PM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: Dear Michel and Members of the IACR Board, I hope this finds you well. In the spirit of maintaining a constructive and respectful dialogue, I would like to propose scheduling a conference call in the near future. My hope is to foster an open exchange where I can share my perspective on recent matters and, equally importantly, listen to your viewpoints directly. Despite the complexity of our recent communications, I believe that a conversation—where everyone has the chance to express concerns, ask questions, and clarify positions—could help us work through misunderstandings and avoid an unproductive confrontation at Real World Crypto. My primary goal remains to ensure clarity and maintain respect on all sides. If you agree, I kindly ask that you suggest a few possible dates and times that would be convenient for the Board. I will make every effort to accommodate your schedule. I genuinely believe we share the desire to preserve a healthy and collaborative environment within our community, and I look forward to discussing ways we can move forward together. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Nadim Kobeissi Symbolic Software • https://symbolic.software On 1 Feb 2025, at 2:55 PM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: Hi Michel, I am again noting for the record that the board has continued to delay the publication of board meeting minutes in strict coincidence with my submitting my petition. Prior to the petition, board meetings were published within a maximum of two months of the meeting taking place (already a fairly long delay). This is based on your email from 22 November, 2023, in which you stated: "For now, I would just like to attach to this email the minutes of the October meeting, which has a summary of the discussion that went on the board related to the statement. These minutes will be available on the IACR website later on. The minutes for last night’s meeting will only be available after the meeting in December. “ Immediately after I submitted my petition, the board extended this delay to over four months, only publishing the minutes for September 2024 in late January 2025. Thank you, Nadim Kobeissi Symbolic Software • https://symbolic.software On 23 Jan 2025, at 11:44 AM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: Dear IACR Board and Ethics Committee Members, I am writing to inform you of my planned advocacy statement intended for publication around RWC 2025. In accordance with principles of transparency and professional courtesy, I wish to share this document with you well in advance of its intended publication. The draft text is currently available for your review at a private URL: https://iacrbias.org/ultimate-watermelon-sphinx/ I believe it is important to provide you with access to review the complete content. I would greatly appreciate your thorough review of the document and welcome any feedback regarding potential factual inaccuracies or areas of concern. My goal is to maintain constructive dialogue throughout this process while pursuing this advocacy initiative in a professional manner. I remain committed to engaging with both the Board and Ethics Committee in an open and respectful discourse as we move forward. Thank you for your time and consideration. Nadim Kobeissi Symbolic Software • https://symbolic.software On 6 Jan 2025, at 2:16 PM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: Hi everyone, For the record, I am noting that, as of January 6, 2025, the IACR has not published any meeting minutes since August 2024, roughly five months ago. I will also note, for the record, that the IACR ethics committee has not followed up on my complaint. Thank you, Nadim Kobeissi Symbolic Software • https://symbolic.software On 27 Nov 2024, at 5:17 PM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: Hi Michel, Thank you for your response. To clarify, board meetings are available usually multiple months after meetings are held, correct? So you’re choosing to impose that same delay here, if I’m not mistaken? Thank you, Nadim Kobeissi Symbolic Software • https://symbolic.software On 27 Nov 2024, at 3:59 PM, Michel Abdalla wrote: Dear Nadim, Thank you for your inquiry and your inputs. We did discuss your questions during the board meeting last week. The conclusion reached by the Board on this matter will appear in the minutes of the board meeting once they become available. Best regards, Michel On Nov 27, 2024, at 11:00 AM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: Dear Michel, I’m noting in writing my acknowledgment of the board of directors once again failing to respond to my queries and to the petition after repeatedly promising to discuss their issue during their meetings, the most recent of which was over a week ago. I’ll organize my public advocacy regarding this issue accordingly. Nadim Kobeissi Symbolic Software • https://symbolic.software On 18 Nov 2024, at 6:43 AM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: Dear Michel, Please do not forget to share the results of tomorrow’s meeting regarding the petition. I would like to reiterate my questions from earlier: Question 1: Would the board agree that its extreme difference in policy depending on the populations involved represents stark, clear-cut, objective evidence of political and racial discrimination by the IACR board of directors? Question 2: In the event that the IACR board of directors is found to be liable for political and racial bias, what are the appropriate steps that are to be taken by the IACR as an organization? Please provide proposals. Question 3: Does the board plan to issue a public answer to the petition? I’ll note that the petition has been signed by over 40 IACR members and that your email, which is short, does not address the three concrete demands that appear in the petition: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e2HDOC0K_K9v1BoycIg4sCeJbBWHOdfSmBTyz38RrIc I would also like to remind you of the extreme difference in reaction time and membership involvement that the IACR board has demonstrated when it came to issuing a statement in support of Israeli members (less than two weeks after October 7, virtually no involvement from IACR members outside of the board of directors) and with requests regarding Lebanese or Palestinian members (over two months of stalling, avoidant and discriminatory behavior despite a signed petition by 40 members.) Thank you, Nadim Kobeissi Symbolic Software • https://symbolic.software On 30 Oct 2024, at 4:49 PM, Michel Abdalla wrote: Dear Nadim, Apologies for not replying earlier. I would like to let you know that we plan to consider your questions to the board during the next board meeting, currently scheduled for November 19th. We also acknowledge receipt of your report. Regards, Michel On Oct 30, 2024, at 4:19 PM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: I am submitting to the Board of Director’s attention an instance of racial bias that occurred today and which was motivated directly by the biased policy that the IACR Board has adopted towards the issuance of statements. The full exchange is included as an attachment, but the other party, who is a tenured cryptography professor at a prestigious university, is anonymized for the sake of their privacy. In this exchange, this professor states that while the IACR should not issue political statements, its issuance of statements regarding Israelis and Jewish people in particular is “understandable”, since they are more valuable and central to cryptography than other groups. This is direct evidence that the Board’s actions have established a climate of racial and political bias. This, alongside the previously reported instance of members of the Israeli Ministry of Defense discussing killings of Palestinian civilians openly at IACR Real World Cryptography 2024, will both be included in my upcoming lightining talks at IACR events, as well as a summary of the history of my exchanges with the board of directors, and empirical evidence of the Board adopting preferential and discriminatory treatment towards different groups of researchers. I am cc’ing the IACR Ethics Committee, while noting that its members are also members of the IACR Board of Directors, which is yet another instance of bias and mismanagement at the IACR Board of Directors. Thank you, Nadim Kobeissi Symbolic Software • https://symbolic.software On 28 Oct 2024, at 8:56 AM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: Hi Michel, Would it be alright to ask for any sort of timeline regarding when the board intends to answer my questions? I’m still keeping the other statements that the board issued as my frame of reference. Many of them came out in a matter of less than two weeks after their relevant events happened. However, in the case of Lebanese and Palestinian lives, the IACR board of directors seems to have many much more pressing priorities, and this despite the written requests of forty of its members. Why is that? Thank you, Nadim Kobeissi Symbolic Software • https://symbolic.software On 18 Oct 2024, at 8:27 PM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: Hi Michel, It is surprising that the board apparently did not consider the petition or specifically did not consider formulating a response to the petition in its meeting last week; I thought you said that was one of the goals of the meeting? Did it somehow consider the petition without actually aiming to formulate any response to it? Thank you, Nadim Kobeissi Symbolic Software • https://symbolic.software On 18 Oct 2024, at 2:18 PM, Michel Abdalla wrote: Dear Nadim, The board will consider your questions and reply in due time. However, we do not provide responses to such questions by email without having a discussion first in meetings. Regards, Michel On Oct 17, 2024, at 5:40 PM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: Hi Michel, Especially given your recent reminder regarding civility, I feel compelled to ask if the board of directors plans to answer my three questions sent below, and whether or not they have a timeline for issuing a response to a petition signed by 40 IACR members. It is now starting to look like the board of directors is trying to smother a discussion in which it could be found liable for political and racial bias and in which it is avoiding issuing a response to a petition signed by 40 IACR members. Is it civil of the board of directors to work so hard on avoiding answering my questions? Is the IACR board of directors being civil when they attempt to not issue a response to a public petition signed by forty of their own members? Thank you for your understanding, Nadim Kobeissi Symbolic Software • https://symbolic.software On 14 Oct 2024, at 12:47 PM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: Hi Michel, Thank you for your update! I’d like to ask the board to comment on how it is that it became extremely opposed to issuing statements specifically and precisely when these statements began to be proposed for Palestinian and Lebanese populations, after having no problem very quickly issuing statements (within a matter of days) for Israeli and Ukrainian populations. Question 1: Would the board agree that this extreme difference in policy depending on the populations involved represents stark, clear-cut, objective evidence of political and racial discrimination by the IACR board of directors? My first question is simple enough to warrant a yes-or-no answer. Question 2: In the event that the IACR board of directors is found to be liable for political and racial bias, what are the appropriate steps that are to be taken by the IACR as an organization? Please provide proposals. Question 3: Does the board plan to issue a public answer to the petition? I’ll note that the petition has been signed by over 40 IACR members and that your email, which is short, does not address the three concrete demands that appear in the petition: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e2HDOC0K_K9v1BoycIg4sCeJbBWHOdfSmBTyz38RrIc Thank you for providing distinct answers all three questions. Nadim Kobeissi Symbolic Software • https://symbolic.software On 14 Oct 2024, at 11:38 AM, Michel Abdalla wrote: Dear Nadim, The board discussed this petition at our October meeting last week. Though the board is extremely distressed by the horrific loss of civilian lives in Lebanon, we did not reach consensus on the issuance of a new statement. Several members of the board feel, as it is acknowledged in the petition that some IACR members feel, that the issuance of statements of empathy is beyond the capabilities or mandate of the board, and would like to institute a policy to curtail such statements (similar to point 2 in the petition). Such policies have been previously discussed by the board and continue to be discussed. Regards, Michel On Oct 10, 2024, at 10:35 PM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: Hi Michel, Has the board formulated a response to the petition? Nadim Symbolic Software • https://symbolic.software On 4 Oct 2024, at 10:44 AM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: Dear Michel, Thank you for your kind words regarding my personal situation and for your sincere hopes about my mother’s stay in France. Your empathy is appreciated during this difficult time. I wholeheartedly acknowledge the importance of maintaining civility and an open mind in our communications. Constructive dialogue is essential for fostering understanding and progress within our community, and I am committed to engaging respectfully. However, I feel compelled to express that the perceived political bias of the IACR has contributed significantly to a sense of deep disrespect and incivility towards its Lebanese and Palestinian members. Incivility can manifest in many forms—not solely through the tone of our emails but also through actions and omissions that impact members differently. When an organization appears to selectively address certain issues while overlooking others that deeply affect a subset of its community, it can create feelings of marginalization and hurt that runs much deeper than words. I hope that we can work together to address these concerns and strive towards a more inclusive and equitable approach that respects and acknowledges the experiences of all members. Open and empathetic communication is the first step towards healing and understanding. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Nadim On 4 Oct 2024, at 12:45 AM, Michel Abdalla wrote: Dear Nadim, I’m sorry to hear about your personal situation and that of your mom and I sincerely hope that you succeed obtaining the necessary authorization for your mom to stay in France with you. Regarding the petition and your request for an IACR Statement Regarding Mass Civilian Deaths in Lebanon, I would like to let you know that we plan to discuss it in our upcoming virtual board meeting on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, as the board of the IACR, we know how important it is for us to maintain an open communication channel between us and our members. This continuous feedback from the members not only helps us improve our conferences and publications, but it also allows us to learn about things that are not working properly so that we can try to fix it. However, for this work, it is extremely important for all parties to remain civil and keep an open mind. Hence, I would like to use this opportunity to politely ask you to please remain civil in our exchanges so that we can maintain an open dialogue. Best regards, Michel On Oct 3, 2024, at 8:54 AM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: For your information, outside of this petition, I’ve been waking up at 4am the past two days to go stand outside the court of asylum for hours with my mom, in her seventies, so we can petition for her to be able to stay with me in France until the war is over. Your lack of common consideration, targeted specifically at one subset of your membership, is absolutely appalling and disgusting. On 3 Oct 2024, at 6:31 AM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: To the IACR board of directors, 40 IACR members have signed the petition and await your response. In the meantime: • Over 1,900 casualties are now reported in Lebanon over the past two weeks, including over 100 children and over 100 women. • Over 1.2 million residents have fled their homes in southern Lebanon. • This morning, Israel bombed central areas in Beirut. When Hamas committed its atrocious attack on Israeli civilians in October 7th, the IACR board of directors reacted by publishing a statement within 11 days (October 18th). It has so far been 7 days since this petition has been delivered to you. Your statement on Hamas and Israel was published in 11 days and without any petition: how long will you take to show any consideration towards a petition signed by 40 of your members? Your silence speaks volumes. Yours, Nadim On 28 Sep 2024, at 8:37 AM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: Over 30 signatory IACR members now await a formal answer from the board to this petition: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e2HDOC0K_K9v1BoycIg4sCeJbBWHOdfSmBTyz38RrIc/edit On 27 Sep 2024, at 1:14 PM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: Have you considered the very real possibility that your selective issuance of political statements emboldens such acts? What the hell were you thinking? How on Earth did you think it was a good idea to make the IACR a partisan organization? I’ve informed the individual that they can contact Tal Rabin. Nadim Kobeissi Symbolic Software • https://symbolic.software On 27 Sep 2024, at 12:46 PM, Michel Abdalla wrote: Dear Nadim, The issue you just mentioned is quite serious and should be referred to the IACR Code-of-Conduct Liason Tal Rabin at conduct@iacr.org. Another possible avenue for addressing this report is the Ethics committee which can be contacted via ethics-committee@iacr.org. Please tell the person who witnessed this behavior at RWX 2024 to report it using one of the options listed above. Regards, Michel On Sep 27, 2024, at 11:01 AM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: I would like to further bring to the Board's attention reports from attendees of Real World Crypto 2024 which claim that participants from the Israeli Ministry of Defense were boasting about the number of Palestinian civilians that they had personally killed: https://x.com/kaepora/status/1839590641656861130 I ask that the Board of Directors address this attestation from Real World Crypto 2024 attendees. Nadim Kobeissi Symbolic Software • https://symbolic.software On 26 Sep 2024, at 7:58 PM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: Michel, In case anyone on the board wants one of these t-shirts (attached), please send in your size before tomorrow. I plan to wear them during my lightning talks at future IACR events, which you’re more than welcome to join. I will be steadily raising awareness about your political and racial bias by fully relating the story since the publication of your statement in support of Israeli civilian casualties and until your sudden curtailing of IACR political statements today exactly when you were asked to publish a statement in support of Lebanese and Palestinian civilian casualties, until I raise enough awareness within the IACR member community to force your resignation. When that happens, I’ll make sure that everyone knows exactly why you were all forced to resign. Nadim Kobeissi Symbolic Software • https://symbolic.software On 26 Sep 2024, at 6:15 PM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: Michel, When the IACR issued a statement about the Russian war on Ukraine, the board was completely unconcerned about restricting statements regarding political matters. When the IACR issued a statement about Hamas’s attack on Israeli civilians, years later, the board was similarly unconcerned about about restricting statements regarding political matters. However, the moment the board was confronted with a public outcry from IACR members asking for a statement in support of Lebanese civilians at the hands of the Israel Defense Forced, and the moment that a petition was drafted by an IACR member who had lost his own home and family members to the Israel Defense Forces, the IACR board of directors suddenly sprung to action to curtail its political statements. Based on this, I accuse the IACR Board of Directors of clearly acting in order to constrain political statements in support of Lebanese civilian casualties at the hands of the Israel Defense Forces, which constitutes further evidence of the board of directors’s political and racial bias against its Lebanese and Palestinian members. I will, as such, be moving towards a separate petition asking for the resignation of the Board of Directors. In the meantime, I would like to deliver the following petition, signed by multiple IACR members from all over the world, for your immediate consideration, and inform you that we demand an answer from you without further delay to the contents of the following petition specifically: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e2HDOC0K_K9v1BoycIg4sCeJbBWHOdfSmBTyz38RrIc Shame on you, Nadim On 26 Sep 2024, at 5:34 PM, Michel Abdalla wrote: Dear Nadim, Thank you for your email. Regarding your request for an “IACR Statement Regarding Mass Civilian Deaths in Lebanon”, I would like to let you know that the board is in the process of establishing a formal policy related to the issuance of official statements on world matters, including statements of empathy. Since the IACR board recognizes that the board does not have the expertise to speak on matters not directly related to cryptology or its core functions, the board has concluded that statements by the board on world matters should be confined to issues that are directly related to the mission of the IACR, namely the promotion of research in cryptology. As a result, even though the board is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian lives in Lebanon, the board does not plan on issuing any further statements of empathy related to this or future events. Nevertheless, as I have mentioned to you in the past, members are welcome to voice their concerns and complaints during the membership meetings at one of the three general conferences (i.e., ASIACRYPT, CRYPTO, and EUROCRYPT). Moreover, IACR members are allowed to petition the board for a referendum on an issue. In particular, Article XV of the IACR bylaws (https://www.iacr.org/docs/bylaws.pdf) states that “if 10 percent of the members petition the Board for a referendum on an issue, the Board directs the Secretary to place the question before the entire membership”. Best regards, Michel Abdalla IACR President On Sep 25, 2024, a t 11:25 AM, Nadim Kobeissi wrote: Dear IACR Board of Directors, I am utterly appalled and deeply angered by your blatant disregard for the mass atrocities currently unfolding in Lebanon, where over 600 innocent civilians—including 50 children—have been killed in just the past three days. Despite my repeated requests—three times now—you have chosen to remain silent, refusing to issue a statement expressing sympathy or condemnation of this horrific violence. It is beyond reprehensible that while you swiftly issued a statement expressing support for Israel less than two weeks after Hamas's attack last year, you now turn a blind eye to the suffering and loss of life in Lebanon. This glaring double standard is not only hypocritical but also exposes a disturbing level of bias and discrimination within your organization. Your silence is a tacit endorsement of inhumanity and a gross failure to uphold the ethical standards expected of an international association. I am disgusted by your unwillingness to acknowledge the plight of Lebanese civilians, and I find your inaction morally indefensible. I sincerely hope that each of you will be held accountable for this egregious neglect and that your complicity in this matter will not be forgotten. Your actions—or lack thereof—speak volumes about your true values and are a stain on the reputation of the IACR. Sincerely, Nadim Kobeissi Symbolic Software • https://symbolic.software