Message #45640

[Mark]

US Scholars Back Isolation Of Israel

An association of American professors with almost 5,000 members has voted to endorse an academic boycott of Israeli colleges and universities, the group announced Monday, making it the largest academic group in the United States to back a growing movement to isolate Israel over its treatment of Palestinians. The group, the American Studies Association, said its members approved the boycott resolution by 2-to-1 in online balloting that concluded Sunday night, with about a quarter of the members voting. "The resolution is in solidarity with scholars and students deprived of their academic freedom and it aspires to enlarge that freedom for all, including Palestinians," the American Studies Association said. The national council of the American Studies Association voted unanimously on Dec. 4 in favor of the boycott resolution and then put the issue to its members. The group's stance has pitted scholars and organizations against one another in a heated debate about the ethics of academic boycotts, the motives behind the campaign and whether Israel is being singled out unfairly.

http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/U-S-scholars-back-boycott-of-Israel-5070019.php

Just what equates to a liberal scholar... 

The problem is acute. Of the 18 members of the ASA National Council who voted unanimously to endorse the boycott resolution, none appears to have any connection with Middle East studies. At least seven appear to have gender studies and sexual politics as a major, or one of their major, interests. The others state their primary research interests are race, film, “imperialism,” and Hawaiian and Latino cultural studies.

5000 Academics Surrender their Scholarly Standards In Israel Boycott

http://balfourpost.com/5000-academics-surrender-their-scholarly-standards-in-israel-boycott/