Members of the organization calling itself the American Studies Association have voted to launch an academic boycott against Israel due to Israel’s treatment of the PA (Palestinian Authority) and its residents. This is part of a growing momentum in Europe that is seeking to isolate Israel. It should be pointed out that while the boycott is unwelcome, the organization itself numbers fewer than 5,000 members and it is not viewed as a major organization representing academics.

The New York Times quotes Tel Aviv University Prof. of Economics Dr. Manuel Trajtenberg saying “Its’ almost like a family betrayal”, adding it is particularly painful since it originates in the United States, not Europe.

This marks yet another victory of the pro-PA BDS (Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions) organization, which has already marked numerous successes in Europe, where sanctions against goods originating in “occupied territories” are in place.

“Rather than standing up for academic freedom and human rights by boycotting countries where professors are imprisoned for their views, the ASA chooses as its first ever boycott to boycott Israel, the sole democracy in the Middle East, in which academics are free to say what they want, write what they want and research what they want,” Israeli Ambassador to the UN Ron Dermer said on Monday, 13 Teves 5774.

The American Association of University Professors, America’s largest professors’ group, said it opposed the boycott.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)