American Anthropologists vote to boycott Israeli academic institutions

WASHINGTON – The American Anthropological Association (AAA) has joined a Palestinian call to boycott Israeli academic institutions that support the apartheid regime.

The largest academic association in the U.S., with 12,000 members, had put the motion to a vote from June 15 to July 14.

71% of members supported the boycott call. The motion was formulated in March 2023.

The motion applies only to institutions, not individual anthropologists.

The Anthropological Association motion states that “the Israeli state operates an apartheid regime from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea”

It goes on to say that “Israeli academic institutions are complicit in the oppressive regime of the Israeli state against the Palestinians”

The motion also points out that a UN special rapporteur and groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and others have confirmed that the Israeli authorities are committing apartheid against the Palestinian people.

“Israeli academic institutions are complicit in the Israeli state’s regime of oppression against Palestinians… including by providing research and development of military and surveillance technologies used against Palestinians,” said the motion. 

“Israeli academic institutions do not provide protections for academic freedom, campus speech in support of Palestinian human and political rights, nor for the freedom of association of Palestinian students on their campuses,” the document added.

 “Israeli academic institutions have failed to support the right to education and academic freedom at Palestinian universities, obstructing Palestinian academic exchanges with academic institutions in the U.S. and elsewhere.”

The vote by the Anthropological Association is an important victory for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian human rights.

BDS is a Palestinian-led movement that calls for non-violent pressure on Israel to end its occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel has thanked the American Anthropological Association for deciding to boycott Israeli academic institutions. 

“We thank the many AAA members who worked tirelessly to ensure the association was on record as refusing ties with Israeli universities complicit in Israel’s crimes against us. We thank those who took the time to learn from and listen to indigenous Palestinian voices,” it added.