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The American Anthropological Association's Boycott of Israeli Academics

(Washington Post) David G. Post - I began my professional career as an anthropologist and from 1981 to 1983 I worked at the American Anthropological Association (AAA) in Washington as its director of programs. At the 1982 annual meeting, the members passed a resolution condemning Israel's invasion of Lebanon. Why was the AAA taking a position as an organization on the question? What made anthropologists think that (a) anyone cared what they thought as anthropologists or (b) they had some expertise that would give their voice, as anthropologists, some special weight? And where was their condemnation of the Soviet Union's treatment of the Hungarians or the Czechs or the Afghans? China's brutal suppression of Tibetans or other ethnic minorities? The Rwandan genocide? Why single out Israel for special attention? One of the tasks I was responsible for in my job was implementing the various resolutions passed at the annual meeting - which in this case meant writing a letter to the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., to be signed by the board, expressing the condemnation. I refused to do it. The current action by the AAA is much, much worse than the 1982 resolution. There is something particularly repellent about calling for a boycott of institutions of higher education, which has as its goal the stifling of academic discussion. The writer is a Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute.
2015-11-26 00:00:00
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