over 100 universities rejecting ASA boycott of Israel

NEW YORK (Press Release)– World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder on Thursday, Jan. 2,  commended the 100 US universities that have publicly denounced the American Studies Association (ASA) boycott of Israel. “It is heartening that the leaders of so many great American universities have stepped forward to condemn the ASA’s discriminatory and pernicious assault on Israel and academic freedom,” Lauder said. “This resounding response shows that American society is united in rejecting the Orwellian anti-Semitism that underlies such unfair efforts to single out the Jewish state for opprobrium.”

Lauder also thanked the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations for its recent letter urging the university presidents to disassociate their schools from the ASA and to remove any funding designated for the association. Lauder is a former chairman of the Presidents Conference.

Under Lauder’s leadership, the WJC last summer launched its Global Campus Initiative (GCI) in order to counter Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) campaigns and other attempts to delegitmize Israel in university environments around the world. The GCI, a joint project with the European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS) and the World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS), held sessions in Jerusalem on December 30, at which 100 student activists heard speakers and shared knowledge about the best ways to counteract the campus campaigns to vilify the Jewish state.

As of 1 January, the presidents or chancellors of 100 American universities and colleges, including such prestigious campuses as Harvard, Columbia, Brown, MIT, University of Michigan, and Georgetown, have rejected the ASA boycott. Also opposing the boycott are the Association of American Universities, which represents 62 institutions in America and Canada, and the 48,000 member American Association of University Professors. The ASA, a 5,000-member association of academics who teach American studies, announced the passage of its anti-Israel boycott resolution on 16 December .

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The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, meanwhile, released the following statement:

“We are pleased that we have reached a major milestone with over 100 universities publicly claiming their opposition to the boycott of Israeli universities and academia adopted by the American Studies Association. We anticipate more signing on as offices reopen and presidents return from their holiday vacations. As significant as this is, we have to be vigilant regarding efforts at other such bodies, like the Modern Language Association that will be convening on January 9th in Chicago and will include a one-sided panel entitled ‘Academic Boycotts: A Conversation about Israel and Palestine’. We hope the clear messages issued by the presidents of the most prestigious universities in America against the boycott of Israeli institutions or academics will resonate with any who are contemplating a similar effort at the MLA,” said Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations leaders, Robert G. Sugarman, Chairman, and Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman.

The following university presidents and chancellors have released statements rejecting the ASA boycott of Israeli academic institutions:

  • Touro College and University System (President and CEO Alan Kadish)

In addition, the following institutions’ American Studies programs have withdrawn their membership in the American Studies Association (ASA) following last month’s boycott vote:

Furthermore, the following institutions have flatly denied being institutional members of the ASA, though the organization lists them as such:

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Preceding provided by the World Jewish Congress and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations