American Anthropological Association announces Israeli boycott for being an 'apartheid regime'

The American Anthropological Association (AAA), the world’s largest anthropological association, announced a decision on Monday to boycott Israeli academic institutions.

The announcement follows an electronic vote on the issue in June.

AAA President Ramona Pérez, who admitted the voting was “contentious," said the boycott resolution targets Israeli academic institutions and does not cover individual scholars or students within the institutions.

Pérez said the AAA had made a “collective decision and it is now our duty to forge ahead, united in our commitment to advancing scholarly knowledge, finding solutions to human and social problems, and serving as a guardian of human rights.”

The results involved only 37% of eligible voting members, with 71% voting in favor and 29% opposed. A previous attempt to pass a similar resolution in 2016 failed.

The resolution as written labels Israel an “apartheid regime from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea," and pledges to continue its boycott of the Jewish state “until such time as these institutions end their complicity in violating Palestinian rights as stipulated in international law.”

The AAA's resolution will prohibit listing Israeli academic institutions in AAA-published materials, advertising in AAA publications, participating in joint AAA conferences or republishing articles from AAA publications.

The move comes as academia is increasingly becoming a hub for debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Academic Engagement Network (AEN) criticized the AAA's boycott, saying it would harm academic freedom.

“Supporters of the resolution continued to push the absurd claim that its application is limited to 'institutions' – as if it's possible to boycott universities and colleges without harming the actual people who work and study in them,” AEN Executive Director Miriam Elman said.

AMCHA Initiative, a non-partisan organization dedicated to documenting, investigating, and combating antisemitism on American college campuses, said that academic boycotts “suppress the open exchange of ideas, collaboration and scholarly discourse.”

“By supporting an academic boycott, the AAA would be contradicting the fundamental principles of academic freedom, the pursuit of knowledge, and the open exchange of ideas. It also undermines the values of inclusivity and diversity that higher education institutions should provide,” AMCHA added.

The Deborah Project legal firm, a public interest law firm dedicated to protecting Jewish civil rights in the American educational system, threatened to sue the association, claiming the resolution violates state laws in states that have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Association’s definition of antisemitism.

Founded in 1902, American Anthropological Association (AAA) claims it is "dedicated to advancing human understanding and applying this understanding to the world’s most pressing problems," according to their website.