Large group of U.S. scholars endorse academic boycott of Israel

[Jesus Malverde]

2. Major US academic body backs boycott of Israeli educational institutions

The boycott movement claimed a major victory earlier this year when Stephen Hawking pulled out of a conference in Israel.

American Studies Association says move is 'in solidarity with scholars and students deprived of academic freedom'

A prestigious US academic body has joined a growing movement to boycott Israel in protest at its treatment of Palestinians, in a move both welcomed and condemned in a bitterly divisive international arena.

The American Studies Association (ASA), which has more than 5,000 members, is the most significant US academic organisation to back a boycott of Israeli educational institutions following a two-thirds majority vote. Around a quarter of members took part in the ballot.

The ASA resolution was "in solidarity with scholars and students deprived of their academic freedom", the organisation said in a statement. It cited "Israel's violation of international law and UN resolutions; the documented impact of the Israeli occupation on Palestinian scholars and students; [and] the extent to which Israeli institutions of higher education are a party to state policies that violate human rights."

The resolution bans "formal collaborations with Israeli academic institutions, or with scholars who are expressly serving as representatives or ambassadors of those institutions".

The vote came amid renewed calls in the aftermath of Nelson Mandela's death for an international boycott drive against Israel similar to the anti-apartheid campaign.

Last week the major Dutch drinking water firm Vitens announced that it was severing commercial links, including joint projects agreed just weeks earlier, with Israel's national water company, Mekorot, in protest at its activities in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. "The company concluded that it would be very difficult to develop joint ventures together, considering the fact that they cannot be seen as divorced from their political context. We follow international law," Vitens said in a statement.

At the same time, the UK government issued an explicit warning to British businesses over the risks of involvement in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including potential damage to a company's reputation. There were "clear risks related to economic and financial activities in the settlements, and we do not encourage or offer support to such activity," it said.

Earlier this year, the EU established new guidelines that prohibit giving funds, grants, prizes or scholarships to Israeli bodies with links to settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, prompting a furious response by the Israeli government.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/17/us-american-studies-association-boycott-israel