June 7, 2016 — New York, New York
AJC praised the American Anthropological Association (AAA) for rejecting a proposed boycott of Israeli academic institutions. The boycott resolution, recommended by a vote at the group's annual meeting inDenver in November 2015, was formally rejected by the AAA’s full membership in an online vote that concluded May 31. The vote result was announced today.
"We appreciate the determined efforts of AAA members who are dedicated to academic freedom and the exchange of ideas and rejected this one-sided, counterproductive, and dangerous resolution,” said AJC Assistant Executive Director Daniel Elbaum.
"Increased collaboration with Israeli institutions should be an American academic priority," said Elbaum. "Boycotting the academic institutions of one of the Middle East’s only democracies shouldn't even be a subject to debate, certainly not in academia."
Significant academic organizations, notably the American Association of University Professors, and hundreds of university administrators, have steadfastly rejected the idea of academic boycotts of Israel.
