AJC Applauds University of California Call on Anthropologists to Oppose Israel Boycott

AJC hailed University of California President Janet Napolitano and ten UC Chancellors for publicly opposing the proposed American Association of Anthropologists’ boycott of Israel.

“The University of California believes that an academic boycott is an inappropriate response to a foreign policy issue and one that threatens academic freedom and sets a damaging precedent for academia,” the UC leaders wrote in a statement. “We urge Association members to consider the boycott’s potentially harmful impacts and oppose this resolution.”

A resolution urging anthropologists at colleges and universities across the U.S. to boycott Israeli academic institutions was adopted last November at the AAA’s annual meeting, subject to approval by the organization’s full membership, which this month began voting on the measure.

“University of California President Janet Napolitano and the chancellors of schools across the state have delivered a clear-eyed, rational rebuke to this totally misguided, harmful proposal,” said Dan Elbaum, AJC’s Assistant Executive Director and Director of Regional Offices. “The sponsors of the AAA resolution are aligned with the BDS movement and, let’s be clear, have zero interest in a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Rather, tellingly, they consider Israel, a member state of the UN since 1949, as an illegitimate entity that has no place in the community of nations.”