MIDDLE EAST-ISRAEL

Middle East scholars sign resolution endorsing Israeli boycott

An academic professional organisation devoted to international study of the Arab world and Israel has voted to endorse boycotting Israel, in a resolution signed by thousands of professors and scholars worldwide, writes Andrew Lapin for JTA.

Members of the Middle East Studies Association signed off on a resolution “endorsing the Palestinian call for solidarity in the form of boycotts, divestment and sanctions,” known as BDS.

The resolution also calls for an “academic boycott” of Israeli institutions, including universities – a term that BDS proponents typically define as severing all formal ties with the institutions. But the association says it will not target individual students or scholars, that Israeli scholars will still be eligible for membership, and that each individual member of the group has the right to refrain from participating in the boycott.
Full report on The Times of Israel site