27.07.23
Editorial Note

IAM reported in early June that the American Anthropological Association (AAA) was about to vote on a petition to boycott Israeli academic institutions. The electronic ballot took place between June 15 and 14 July 2023, when the association endorsed the boycott.

Interestingly, only thirty-seven percent of AAA’s members voted. Supporting the resolution were 2,016 members, that is, 71% of the votes, and opposing the resolution, 835 members, which is 29% of the votes.

AAA President Ramona Pérez said about the vote, “This was indeed a contentious issue, and our differences may have sparked fierce debate, but we have made a collective decision and it is now our duty to forge ahead, united in our commitment to advancing scholarly knowledge, finding solutions to human and social problems, and serving as a guardian of human rights.”

She said that the “AAA’s referendum policies and procedures have been followed closely and without exception, and the outcome will carry the full weight of authorization by AAA’s membership.” The boycott is “limited to AAA—as an association—refraining from formal collaborations with Israeli academic institutions. The resolution pertains only to Israeli academic institutions, and not to individual scholars and students affiliated with these institutions.”

The Executive Board has approved “barring Israeli academic institutions from: being listed in AAA’s published materials, including AAA’s AnthroGuide to Departments advertising in AAA publications, websites, and other communications channels, including the AAA Career Center using AAA conference facilities for job interviews participating in the AAA Graduate School Fair; participating in the AAA Departmental Services Program; participating in joint conferences or events with AAA and its sections, and where within AAA’s control, republishing and reprinting articles from AAA publications in journals and publications owned by Israeli institutions.”

However, the AAA academic institutional boycott does not prevent: “individuals affiliated with Israeli academic institutions from registering for and attending AAA conferences, even if their institutions have paid for their expenses; articles published in AAA journals from being reprinted or republished in journals not owned by Israeli institutions that are edited by individuals affiliated with Israeli academic institutions; individuals affiliated with Israeli academic institutions from serving as journal editors or Section / AAA elected officials, even if their institutions have paid for related expenses (their institution would be identified as being subject to an institutional boycott); individuals affiliated with Israeli academic institutions from publishing in AAA journals, even if their institutions have paid for their expenses, and Israeli university libraries from subscribing to AAA journals, including AnthroSource.”

Lastly, the endorsed resolution “authorizes the Executive Board to come up with an implementation plan, which includes specifying the process by which the Board will consider lifting the boycott. The AAA will lift the institutional boycott when it can be established by a consensus of a group of experts commissioned for this purpose that Israeli academic institutions have substantially ended their complicity in violating Palestinian rights as stipulated in international law. The Executive Board will monitor and evaluate the situation at least every five years, or more frequently as deemed appropriate, and determine whether the boycott should remain in place.”

Perez added, “By means of these actions, AAA will contribute to raising critical awareness of the dynamics of peace and conflict in the region, draw attention to the disproportionate suffering of the Palestinian people as a result of the Occupation and what can be done about it, and expand the space for dialogue on these sensitive and important human rights and academic freedom issues… We believe that these actions can contribute to the enrichment of the health and welfare of all citizens in the region, increase circulation of anthropological scholarship, ease restrictions on scholars’ travel, increase freedom of expression for Palestinian and Israeli anthropologists, and increase dialogue about how archaeology is used in political arguments.”

While the AAA insists it “remains steadfastly committed to the protection of academic freedom and the dissemination of anthropological knowledge,” it boycotts the only democracy in the Middle East and supports the tyrannies in the region.  

According to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), singling out Israel while ignoring worse cases of abuse is antisemitic. At no time did the AAA condemn Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), or even the PA for their brutalities committed against their citizens.   Arguably, the most egregious act is the so-called embedding where Hezbollah, Hamas, and PIJ, instruct the militias to position its fighters and equipment among civilians, including private homes and public spaces such as schools, mosques, and hospitals.  The directive is part of an asymmetrical warfare strategy aimed at limiting the IDF’s ability to respond effectively to the terror groups’ missile and rocket attacks.  As a state, Israel is bound by international humanitarian conventions for treating non-combatants, giving the non-state terror organizations an upper hand.  This fact is well known but hardly mentioned by academic activists bent on damning Israel.

The group Anthropologists for the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions took credit for the success of the boycott vote.

The Jewish members of the AAA announced their intentions to sue the organization legally. IAM will report on the developments in due course.

References:

https://americananthro.org/news/aaa-membership-endorses-academic-boycott-resolution/

AAA Membership Endorses Academic Boycott Resolution

July 24, 2023

The American Anthropological Association (AAA) membership has voted to endorse a resolution to boycott Israeli academic institutions. An all-member referendum took place by electronic ballot between June 15 and July 14. Thirty-seven percent of AAA’s eligible members voted, with 2,016 members (71% of the votes) supporting the resolution, and 835 members (29% of the votes) voting to oppose it.

“This was indeed a contentious issue, and our differences may have sparked fierce debate, but we have made a collective decision and it is now our duty to forge ahead, united in our commitment to advancing scholarly knowledge, finding solutions to human and social problems, and serving as a guardian of human rights,” said AAA President Ramona Pérez. “AAA’s referendum policies and procedures have been followed closely and without exception, and the outcome will carry the full weight of authorization by AAA’s membership.”

AAA’s academic institutional boycott is limited to AAA—as an association—refraining from formal collaborations with Israeli academic institutions. The resolution pertains only to Israeli academic institutions, and not to individual scholars and students affiliated with these institutions. The Association remains steadfastly committed to the protection of academic freedom and the dissemination of anthropological knowledge. With this in mind, the Executive Board has approved the following set of actions aligned with the Association’s core values and mission, barring Israeli academic institutions from:

• being listed in AAA’s published materials, including AAA’s AnthroGuide to Departments
• advertising in AAA publications, websites, and other communications channels, including the AAA Career Center
• using AAA conference facilities for job interviews
• participating in the AAA Graduate School Fair
• participating in the AAA Departmental Services Program
• participating in joint conferences or events with AAA and its sections, and
• where within AAA’s control, republishing and reprinting articles from AAA publications in journals and publications owned by Israeli institutions.

The AAA academic institutional boycott does not prevent:

• individuals affiliated with Israeli academic institutions from registering for and attending AAA conferences, even if their institutions have paid for their expenses
• articles published in AAA journals from being reprinted or republished in journals not owned by Israeli institutions that are edited by individuals affiliated with Israeli academic institutions
• individuals affiliated with Israeli academic institutions from serving as journal editors or Section / AAA elected officials, even if their institutions have paid for related expenses (their institution would be identified as being subject to an institutional boycott)
• individuals affiliated with Israeli academic institutions from publishing in AAA journals, even if their institutions have paid for their expenses, and
• Israeli university libraries from subscribing to AAA journals, including AnthroSource.

The resolution authorizes the Executive Board to come up with an implementation plan, which includes specifying the process by which the Board will consider lifting the boycott. The AAA will lift the institutional boycott when it can be established by a consensus of a group of experts commissioned for this purpose that Israeli academic institutions have substantially ended their complicity in violating Palestinian rights as stipulated in international law. The Executive Board will monitor and evaluate the situation at least every five years, or more frequently as deemed appropriate, and determine whether the boycott should remain in place.

“By means of these actions, AAA will contribute to raising critical awareness of the dynamics of peace and conflict in the region, draw attention to the disproportionate suffering of the Palestinian people as a result of the Occupation and what can be done about it, and expand the space for dialogue on these sensitive and important human rights and academic freedom issues,” Pérez added. “We believe that these actions can contribute to the enrichment of the health and welfare of all citizens in the region, increase circulation of anthropological scholarship, ease restrictions on scholars’ travel, increase freedom of expression for Palestinian and Israeli anthropologists, and increase dialogue about how archaeology is used in political arguments.”

For more information visit our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

=================================================

https://www.newarab.com/news/bds-advocates-hail-israeli-boycott-us-academic-group

News  MENA

BDS advocates hail Israeli boycott by American Anthropological Association

Brooke Anderson
Washington, D.C.
25 July, 2023
This move makes AAA the largest US scholarly institution to engage in an academic boycott of Israel, with 71 per cent of the votes supporting the decision.

Palestinian and BDS advocates are hailing the recent resounding decision by the American Anthropological Association to pursue a boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

This move makes AAA the largest US scholarly institution to engage in an academic boycott of Israel, with 71 per cent of the votes supporting the decision. Thirty-seven per cent of AAA’s eligible members, or 2,016 members, took part in the vote, which was cast between mid-June to mid-July and was announced on the 24th.

“This was indeed a contentious issue, and our differences may have sparked fierce debate, but we have made a collective decision, and it is now our duty to forge ahead, united in our commitment to advancing scholarly knowledge, finding solutions to human and social problems, and serving as a guardian of human rights,” said AAA President Ramona Pérez in a public statement.

“AAA’s referendum policies and procedures have been followed closely and without exception, and the outcome will carry the full weight of authorization by AAA’s membership.”

The academic group previously narrowly voted against such a resolution in 2016. Last year, the Middle East Studies Association endorsed an academic boycott of Israel.

Not everyone is celebrating the news. Several pro-Israel advocates have denounced the move, with at least one person threatening a lawsuit last month if the resolution went through.

According to AAA’s public statement, this resolution affects their relationships with Israeli institutions, not individual scholars and those affiliated with them.

The resolution bars Israeli institutions from the following: being listed in AAA’s published materials, advertising in AAA publications and websites; using AAA conference facilities for job interviews; participating in the AAA Graduate School Fair; participating in the AAA Departmental Services Program; participating in joint conferences or events with AAA and its sections; and republishing and reprinting articles from AAA publications in Israeli publications.

On the other hand, the AAA boycott does not prevent individuals affiliated with Israeli academic institutions from attending AAA conferences; articles published in AAA journals from being reprinted or republished in journals not owned by Israeli institutions that affiliated individuals edit; affiliated individuals from serving as journal editors; affiliated individuals from publishing in AAA journals; and Israeli university libraries from subscribing to AAA journals, including AnthroSource.

The statement says that AAA will end its boycott of Israeli academic institutions once they have “substantially ended their complicity in violating Palestinian rights as stipulated in international law.” As such, AAA has said it will regularly monitor the situation.

“By means of these actions, AAA will contribute to raising critical awareness of the dynamics of peace and conflict in the region, draw attention to the disproportionate suffering of the Palestinian people as a result of the Occupation and what can be done about it, and expand the space for dialogue on these sensitive and important human rights and academic freedom issues,” Pérez added in the group’s public statement.

AAA’s announcement comes shortly after a group of Republican lawmakers accused US President Joe Biden’s administration of engaging in an Israeli boycott after it reversed a policy from the previous administration that allowed for US funding of Israeli academic research in the occupied territories.

===============================================https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2023/06/16/suit-threatened-anthropologists-israel-boycott-vote-begins

June 16, 2023

Suit Threatened as Anthropologists’ Israel Boycott Vote Begins

By  Ryan Quinn

• 
  
• 
  

Just as American Anthropological Association members have started voting on a resolution “to boycott Israeli academic institutions,” a law firm has threatened to sue.

The association said voting on the resolution began Thursday and will continue through July 14.

On Wednesday, Lori Lowenthal Marcus, legal director for the Deborah Project, which represents people “facing discrimination in educational settings because they are Jewish and/or pro-Israel,” wrote to the association’s executive director. Marcus said the firm has clients who are part of the association and are “deeply concerned about the association’s proposed resolution endorsing Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) against Israel.”

“We will be closely watching the voting process and the [AAA] board’s response to this proposed resolution,” she wrote. “We will be watching to ensure that AAA members who oppose the proposed AAA BDS resolution are treated fairly and equitably during the voting process as well as after the vote is concluded, and that all applicable provisions of Virginia corporation law and any other applicable law, and of the AAA’s bylaws and other applicable provisions, are complied with. In addition, we will review how the AAA leadership implements the resolution should it pass.”

She wrote, “Should you fail to act consistently with AAA’s bylaws and/or with all relevant federal, state and local laws, we will not hesitate to bring a legal action against the AAA and/or the board.”

She continued to say the “resolution’s explicit call for discrimination against Israeli institutions” violates California and New York law and that it “violates at least” three provisions of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s antisemitism definition, which the commonwealth of Virginia adopted. One of these she said it violates is “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.”

The resolution doesn’t mention Nazis. Marcus said Thursday she was referring to phrases in it such as “the Israeli government enshrined the principle of Jewish supremacy.”

Jessica Winegar, a member of the organizing collective Anthropologists for the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions, said, “This legal threat really is totally bogus. It’s not based on any sound legal reasoning, and it’s really a baseless attempt at fearmongering both the AAA and its membership.”

Winegar, a professor of anthropology and Middle East and North African studies at Northwestern University, called it a “misuse of baseless legal threats to silence a democratic process within an academic association.”

Ed Liebow, the AAA’s executive director, said, “We are in receipt of this letter; we have referred it to our attorney and don’t have any comment to offer about it except to say that we are scrupulously adhering to the policies and procedures that we have for putting a ballot measure before our members.”

===========================================

https://www.anthroboycott.org/home
Anthropologists for the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions

WE DID IT!

Thousands voted, our voices were heard, and the American Anthropological Association has formally passed the resolution to boycott Israeli academic institutions! This makes the AAA the largest academic association to endorse the Palestinian call for an academic boycott!

This breakthrough would not have been possible without the support and hard work of so many of you. 

THANK YOU!

In solidarity,

Anthropologists for the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions

American Anthropological Association Endorses Resolution Supporting Palestinian Rights & Boycotting Israeli Apartheid

July 24, 2023 — The American Anthropological Association (AAA), representing thousands of anthropologists and scholars, has passed a historic resolution in support of Palestinian rights and freedom, pledging to boycott Israeli academic institutions that are complicit in maintaining Israel’s oppressive apartheid system. The vote passed with an overwhelming majority following a successful referendum held June 15-July 14, with 71% voting in favor.

Founded in 1902, the 12,000-member AAA is the largest and oldest scholarly body in the United States to endorse a boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

“This resolution is a meaningful demonstration of solidarity by thousands of scholars standing alongside their Palestinian colleagues, whose work and lives are impacted on a daily basis by Israel’s racist, discriminatory policies and brutal military rule,” said Jessica Winegar, an anthropology professor and member of the Anthroboycott collective, which campaigned for the boycott. “As scholars with a long history of studying colonialism, anthropologists are all too familiar with the devastating harm of Israel’s oppression and theft of Palestinian land. This vote is an important step in showing that support for Palestinian rights goes hand in hand with the AAA’s values of human rights for all.”

The resolution precludes the AAA from engaging in any formal relationships with Israeli academic institutions. The resolution does not prevent individual Israeli scholars from participating in AAA activities or collaborating with AAA members.

“As a US-based association, the AAA has a responsibility to speak up against the nearly $4 billion in military funding the United States provides to Israel each year, enabling Israel’s brutal military rule, illegal theft of Palestinian land, and oppressive apartheid system against Palestinians,” said Winegar. “Just as scholars throughout the world came together to put pressure on South Africa to end its violent apartheid system, US academic organizations are following in their footsteps and joining the struggle for Palestinian freedom.”

The Palestinian Campaign for the Cultural and Academic Boycott of Israel (PACBI) celebrated this important win for the movement for Palestinian rights: “We thank those who took the time to learn from and listen to Indigenous Palestinian voices. The AAA membership vote to boycott complicit Israeli universities is wholly consistent with the association’s stated commitment to anti-racism, equality, human rights and social justice and furthers the drive to decolonize anthropology and academia in general.”

The Executive Board of the AAA will now proceed with implementing the resolution, joining the ranks of other scholarly associations that have endorsed a boycott of Israeli academic institutions, including the American Studies Association, the Association for Asian American Studies, the Middle East Studies Association, the National Women’s Studies Association, and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association.

In 2016, a similar boycott resolution narrowly missed adoption by a mere 39 votes – less than 1% of ballots cast.

This breakthrough comes despite attempts to pressure, intimidate, and misinform anthropologists from outside pro-Israel organizations with no apparent link to the discipline. These efforts included unsolicited and harassing emails sent to all AAA members; lobbying university presidents across the country to intervene in the vote; and frivolous threats of litigation.

Anthroboycott extends its deepest congratulations and heartfelt thanks to everyone who voted, as well as the numerous volunteers who dedicated their time and efforts to persuade and mobilize their colleagues. We also thank the sections of the AAA that formally endorsed the boycott: the Association of Black Anthropologists and the Middle East Section. We are grateful to the boards of the Association for Feminist Anthropology, Association of Latina/o and Latinx Anthropologists, and Critical Urban Anthropology Association for encouraging their members to support the boycott. 

Anthroboycott (Anthropologists for the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions) is a collective of AAA members, including faculty, contingent labor, and graduate students, working in support of Palestinian human rights.

====================================

https://www.anthroboycott.org/aboutAbout

Anthropologists for the Boycott of Israeli Academic institutions works in support of justice and human rights in Israel/Palestine.

Our organizers and supporters are scholars working in all major sub-fields of the discipline, including tenure-track and adjunct faculty, graduate students, post-docs, and practitioners.

The campaign is managed by an organizing collective, whose members include:

Diana Allan, McGill University

Lori Allen, SOAS

Lara Deeb, Scripps College

Chris Dole, Amherst College

Sami Hermez, Northwestern University-Qatar

Darryl Li, University of Chicago

Lisa Rofel, University of California, Santa Cruz

Jonah Rubin, Knox College 

Dan Segal, Pitzer College

Ajantha Subramanian, Harvard University 

Jessica Winegar, Northwestern University

For media and other queries, write to anthroboycott [at] gmail dot com.

* Institutions listed for identification purposes only

The resolution before us today is not the first time that the American Anthropological Association has considered the question of our ethical and political responsibility to our Palestinian colleagues. A three-year process of education and engagement began with panels at the AAA in 2013 and culminated in a vote by the membership in spring 2016. Over the course of several annual meetings, numerous panels and roundtables took up the questions of conditions on the ground in Palestine, the denial of academic freedom to Palestinians by Israel, and the complicity of Israeli academic institutions in this denial of rights and freedoms. 

More than 1,000 anthropologists signed the statement of Anthropologists for the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions pledging support for the boycott. 

Seeking to preempt the process of learning and engagement that boycott supporters were engaging in, opponents of the boycott put forth an anti-boycott motion at the 2014 AAA business meeting. The historically well attended meeting (until the next year that is) resoundingly rejected this motion. 

Responding to the boycott petition, and recognizing the deep concern of the membership, the AAA organized discussions on these questions and formed a Task Force on American Anthropological Association (AAA) Engagement on Israel/Palestine. After undertaking rigorous research, including 120 interviews, a trip to Israel/Palestine, significant background reading, the Task Force unanimously concluded that “there is a strong case for the Association to take action on this issue, and that the Association should do so.” 

At the 2015 AAA meeting, more than 1500 people attended the business meeting and voted on two resolutions. One, a countermotion that rejected the boycott of Israeli academic institutions (and any use of boycott as a political tactic) with the claim to offer “dialogue” as an alternative course of action, was overwhelmingly rejected (196-1173). The membership recognized the motion for what it was: a call for inaction and support of the status-quo under the guise of “moderate” action. The resolution calling on the AAA to endorse and implement the boycott of Israeli academic institutions passed by a remarkable margin of 1,040 votes in favor to 136 against.

Nearly half of the AAA membership participated in the final ratification vote, which was defeated by an incredibly narrow 39 vote margin.  

In the ensuing years, the “significant limitations on academic freedom [that] have led to substantial deprivations in the health and welfare of Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, as well as within Israel itself” described by the AAA Task Force have only grown more severe.

For information about the previous campaign of 2014-2016, please find our archived website here.

====================================

Renewing the Call to Boycott 

(March, 2023)

On March 3, 2023, 206 members of the American Anthropological Association submitted a petition to the Executive Board requesting a full-membership vote on a resolution to boycott Israeli academic institutions. 

As anthropologists who care about academic freedom and social justice, we must speak out in support of our Palestinian colleagues and oppose the systematic effort to make Palestine an exception to free speech.

A similar resolution was endorsed by a vote of 1040-136 at the AAA business meeting in Denver on November 20, 2015, and narrowly missed adoption in the subsequent full membership vote by a margin of only 39 votes (2,384 in favor and 2,423 opposed; 49.6% – 50.4%). The strong participation in that vote indicates that the matter is one of grave concern to AAA members.

Palestinian human rights and civil society organizations have called for the boycott of institutions complicit in Israeli apartheid and violations of international law. Since the last vote, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as Israeli human rights organizations, have found Israel to be committing apartheid, a crime against humanity. Several academic associations, including the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) and the British Society for Middle East Studies (BRISMES), have passed boycott resolutions. Within the AAA, the Middle East Section passed a resolution to boycott Israeli academic institutions in 2021, and a Middle East Section Statement on Palestine was endorsed by twenty additional section boards and AAA subcommittees.

The need for this vote in support of Palestinian civil society’s call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions has only gained in urgency since the last boycott vote. The situation in Palestine has deteriorated, deepening the repression of Palestinians through ongoing and intensifying threats to their rights at every level, including the right to an education and to academic freedom. The recent Israeli elections, which installed the most extreme right-wing coalition government to date, suggest that additional restrictions on Palestinians’ academic and broader freedoms are imminent. In the first month of 2023 alone, Israeli military campaigns have killed 35 Palestinians and injured over 500, while settler attacks on Palestinians and their property have significantly increased, emboldened by the new government. 

The time for action is now.

For inquiries and to sign up to receive our emails: anthroboycott@gmail.com

==========================================================

https://anthroboycott.wordpress.com/about/
ARCHIVED: Anthropologists for the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions, 2014 – 2016 Campaign

About

Anthropologists for the Boycott of Israeli Academic institutions works in support of justice and human rights in Israel/Palestine.

Our organizers and supporters are scholars working in all major sub-fields of the discipline, including tenure-track and adjunct faculty, graduate students, post-docs, and practitioners.

The campaign is managed by an organizing collective, whose members include:

Nadia Abu El-Haj, Barnard College and Columbia University
Lara Deeb, Scripps College
Ilana Feldman, George Washington University
Lisa Rofel, UC Santa Cruz
Ajantha Subramanian, Harvard University

For media and other queries, write to anthroboycott [at] gmail dot com.

The campaign acts in consultation with and under the guidance of an advisory group, whose members include:

Lila Abu-Lughod, Columbia University
Talal Asad, CUNY Graduate Center
Glenn Bowman, University of Kent
Brian Boyd, Columbia University
Karen Brodkin, UCLA
Steven Caton, Harvard University
Partha Chatterjee, Columbia University
Donald Donham, UC Davis
Abou Farman Farmaian, New School for Social Research
James Ferguson, Stanford University
Les Field, University of New Mexico
Roberto Gonzalez, San Jose State University
Sondra Hale, UCLA
Thomas Blom Hansen, Stanford University
Engseng Ho, Duke University
Rhoda Kanaaneh, Columbia University
Ahmed Kanna, University of the Pacific
J. Kēhaulani Kauanui, Wesleyan University
Saba Mahmood, UC Berkeley
Joseph Masco, University of Chicago
Sunaina Maira, UC Davis
Nadine Naber, University of Illinois at Chicago
Julie Peteet, University of Louisville
Jemima Pierre, UCLA
David Price, Saint Martin’s University
Junaid Rana, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Daniel Segal, Pitzer College
Michael Taussig, Columbia University
Erica Williams, Spelman College

* Institutions listed for identification purposes only.