Language academics condemn Israel's entry policies

By a vote of 60-53, America’s Modern Language Association delegate assembly has approved the contentious Resolution 2014-1, which censures Israel for “denials of entry to the West Bank by US academics who have been invited to teach, confer, or do research at Palestinian universities”, writes Ruth Starkman for Haaretz.

This measure presents a watershed moment for the humanities organisation, which has long debated whether to enter the political arena. The controversial resolution proposed by Richard Ohmann, professor emeritus of English at Wesleyan University and English Professor Bruce Robbins of Columbia University, brings increased academic attention to the Israeli Palestinian conflict, and remains divisive. It also demonstrates the extent to which humanities professors are willing to risk controversy to debate the political problems Israel faces in the occupation.

Although Robbins and Ohmann had no plans to time the resolution with discussions of the Israel boycott and the ASA vote, the coincidence made for provocative discussions of Israel, the occupation and the fate of the Palestinians, and media attention.
Full report on the Haaretz site