NEW YORK // The American Studies Association has endorsed a boycott of Israeli universities, the largest group of US scholars to do so.
About one-third of the group’s more than 3,800 members voted, approving the boycott by 66 per cent on Monday. Last April, the smaller Association for Asian American Studies, which has about 800 members, became the first scholarly group in the US to support an academic boycott of Israel.
“The ASA condemns the United States’ significant role in aiding and abetting Israel’s violations of human rights against Palestinians and its occupation of Palestinian lands through its use of the veto in the UN Security Council,” the American Studies Association said.
The vote, which is largely symbolic, is nonetheless a sign of the increasing momentum of the international boycott movement against Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians. While the movement — which presses for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel — has scored some successes in Europe and elsewhere, it has had far less influence in the US, Israel’s closest and most important ally.
“The reason this is so significant is that it’s a victory within the United States within a mainstream academic association and it was overwhelmingly supported,” Noura Erakat, a Palestinian-American human rights attorney who is a member of the American Studies Association.
Israeli officials have denounced the campaign as an attempt to delegitimise their country. They also argue that companies with ties to states with horrendous human rights records are not similarly targeted. Israeli foreign ministry spokesman, Yigal Palmor, declined to comment on Monday’s announcement by the American Studies Association, referring reporters to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, which did not comment.
Associated Press
