More than 250 anthropologists have signed a statement endorsing the burgeoning movement to boycott Israeli academic institutions in protest of Israel’s systematic human rights violations against the Palestinian people. These violations, in which many Israeli educational institutions are complicit, include denying Palestinians their right to education and academic freedom.

The full statement and signatory list can also be found at http://anthroboycott.wordpress.com

We, the undersigned anthropologists, are circulating this petition to voice our opposition to the ongoing Israeli violations of Palestinian rights, including the Israeli military occupation of the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and East Jerusalem, and to boycott Israeli academic institutions that are complicit in these violations.

The recent military assault on the Gaza Strip by Israel is only the latest reminder that the world’s governments and mainstream media do not hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law. As a community of scholars who study problems of power, oppression, and cultural hegemony, we have a moral responsibility to speak out and demand accountability from Israel and our own governments. Acting in solidarity with Palestinian civil society continues a disciplinary tradition of support for anticolonial and human rights struggles, itself an important departure from anthropology’s historical complicity with colonialism. As laid out in the American Anthropological Association (AAA)’s 1999 Declaration on Anthropology and Human Rights, “Anthropology as a profession is committed to the promotion and protection of the right of people and peoples everywhere to the full realization of their humanity…When any culture or society denies or permits the denial of such opportunity to any of its own members or others, the AAA has an ethical responsibility to protest and oppose such deprivation.”

Israel has maintained an illegal siege on the Gaza Strip for seven years, severely restricting the movement of people and goods in and out of the territory. Palestinians are also being dispossessed of their lands and livelihoods throughout the West Bank, where Israel’s separation barrier curtails Palestinian freedom of movement and education. These and other ongoing violations will continue unless people around the world act where their governments have failed.

As employees in institutions of higher learning, we have a particular responsibility to oppose Israel’s widespread and systematic violations of the right to higher education of Palestinians on both sides of the Green Line. In recent months, Israeli forces have raided Al Quds University in Jerusalem, the Arab American University in Jenin, and Birzeit University near Ramallah. In this summer’s assault, Israeli aerial bombardment destroyed much of the Islamic University of Gaza. More generally, the Israeli state discriminates against Palestinian students in Israeli universities and it isolates Palestinian academia by, among other tactics, preventing foreign academics from visiting Palestinian institutions in Gaza and the West Bank. We are also alarmed by the long history of confiscations of Palestinian archives and the destruction of libraries and research centers.

Israeli academic institutions are complicit with the occupation and oppression of Palestinians. Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Bar Ilan University, Haifa University, Technion, and Ben Gurion University have publicly declared their unconditional support for the Israeli military. Furthermore, there are intimate connections between Israeli academic institutions and the military, security, and political establishments in Israel. To take but one example: Tel Aviv University is directly implicated, through its Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), in developing the Dahiya Doctrine, adopted by the Israeli military in its assaults on Lebanon in 2006 and on Gaza this summer. The Dahiya Doctrine advocates the extensive destruction of civilian infrastructure and “intense suffering” among the civilian population as an “effective” means to subdue any resistance.

As anthropologists, we feel compelled to join academics around the world who support the Palestinian call to boycott Israeli academic institutions. This call is part of a long-standing appeal by Palestinian civil society organizations for the comprehensive implementation of boycotts, divestments, and sanctions (BDS) of Israel, and is supported by the Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees (PFUUPE).

In responding to the Palestinian call, we seek to practice what the AAA calls an “engaged anthropology” that is “committed to supporting social change efforts that arise from the interaction between community goals and anthropological research.” Anthropological research has illuminated the destructive effects of the Israeli occupation on Palestinian society. And the Palestinian community has called for an academic boycott of Israel as a necessary step to ensuring Palestinian rights, including the right to education.

In accordance with these stated principles in support of rights and justice, anthropologists both independently and through the AAA have taken strong stances on a number of issues: apartheid in South Africa, Namibia, and Burundi; violence against civilians in the former Yugoslavia and Pakistan; violence against indigenous and minority populations in Chile, Brazil, and Bulgaria; the use of torture; the Pinochet coup in Chile; and the misuse of anthropological knowledge in the U.S. Army’s Human Terrain System. As an organization, the AAA has also participated in boycotts on several occasions: of the Fulbright-Chile program in 1975; of the State of Illinois in 1999; of the Hilton hotel chain in 2004; of Coca-Cola in 2006; and of the State of Arizona in 2010.

Boycotting Israeli academic institutions is very much in concert with these previous actions. Our decision now to sign on as individuals to the academic boycott represents a concrete and consequential assertion of our commitment as anthropologists to the struggle of the Palestinian people.

Following in the footsteps of the growing number of US academic associations that have endorsed boycott resolutions, we call on our anthropologist colleagues to boycott Israeli academic institutions. Given that decades of interaction, cooperation and collaboration with Israeli institutions have not produced mutual understanding or stopped the military occupation and its violations, we believe that this boycott is the only non-violent form of pressure that could persuade Israelis to call for – and act for – meaningful change that could lead to a just peace. Palestinians must be free to attend universities, in Palestine and internationally, in security. They must have a flourishing, inclusive, well-rounded educational experience. They must be free to meet and learn from scholars from all over the world.

We pledge not to collaborate on projects and events involving Israeli academic institutions, not to teach at or to attend conferences and other events at such institutions, and not to publish in academic journals based in Israel. We call for doing so until such time as these institutions end their complicity in violating Palestinian rights as stipulated in international law, and respect the full rights of Palestinians by calling on Israel to:

End its siege of Gaza, its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands occupied in June 1967, and dismantle the settlements and the walls; Recognize the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel and the stateless Negev Bedouins to full equality; and Respect, protect, and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN Resolution 194.

Sincerely,

Nahla Abdo, Carleton University Nadia Abu El-Haj, Columbia University Lila Abu-Lughod, Columbia University Fida Adely, Georgetown University Asad Ahmed, Harvard University Ananthakrishnan Aiyer, University of Michigan-Flint Nadje Al-Ali, School of Oriental & African Studies Diana Allan, Cornell University Lori Allen, School of Oriental & African Studies Mark Anderson, UC Santa Cruz Walter Armbrust, Oxford University Talal Asad, CUNY Graduate Center Barbara Aswad, Wayne State University Mariam Banahi, Johns Hopkins University Lesley Bartlett, University of Wisconsin Joshua Bell Hugo Benavides, Fordham University Victoria Bernal, UC Irvine Tom Boellstorff, UC Irvine John Borneman, Princeton University Philippe Bourgois, University of Pennsylvania Glenn Bowman, University of Kent Karen Brodkin, UCLA Kevin Caffrey, Harvard University Steven Caton, Harvard University Jessica Cattelino, UCLA Sharad Chari, University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa) Dawn Chatty, Oxford University Nancy N. Chen, UC Santa Cruz David Chicoine, Louisiana State University Julie Chu, University of Chicago Francis Cody, University of Toronto Karen Coelho, Madras Institute of Development Studies Jean Comaroff, Harvard University John Comaroff, Harvard University Nicholas Copeland, Virginia Tech Jane Cowan, Sussex University Rochelle Davis, Georgetown University Anouk de Koning, Radboud University Nijmegen Marisol de la Cadena, UC Davis Erin Debenport, University of New Mexico Lara Deeb, Scripps College Michael Dietler, University of Chicago Chris Dole, Amherst College Donald L. Donham, UC Davis Narges Erami, Yale University Arturo Escobar, UNC Chapel Hill Elizabeth Faier, Wayne State University Randa Farah, University of Western Ontario James C. Faris, University of Connecticut Tessa Farmer, Whittier College Ilana Feldman, George Washington University Mayanthi Fernando, UC Santa Cruz Les Field, University of New Mexico Rowan Flad, Harvard University Andrew Gardner, University of Puget Sound Hildred Geertz, Princeton Farha Ghannam, Swarthmore Lesley Gill, Vanderbilt University Gaston Gordillo, University of British Columbia Sarah R. Graff, Arizona State University Linda Green, University of Arizona Steven Gregory, Columbia University Nina Gren, Lund University Zareena Grewal, Yale University Akhil Gupta, UCLA Sherine Hafez, UC Riverside Ghassan Hage, University of Melbourne Sondra Hale, UCLA Sherine Hamdy, Brown University Rema Hammami, Bir Zeit University Abdellah Hammoudi, Princeton University Clara Han, Johns Hopkins University Richard Handler, University of Virginia Jamil Hanifi, Michigan State University Deborah Heath, Lewis and Clark Mary Hegland, Santa Clara University Stefan Helmreich, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sarah Hill, Western Michigan University Charles Hirschkind, UC Berkeley Engseng Ho, Duke University Katherine Hoffman, Northwestern University Matthew Hull, University of Michigan Farhana Ibrahim, IIT Delhi Amrita Ibrahim Islah Jad, Bir Zeit University Barbara Rose Johnston, Center for Political Ecology Carla Jones, University of Colorado at Boulder Suad Joseph, UC Davis Ann M. Kakaliouras, Whittier College Vinay Kamat, University of British Columbia Rhoda Kanaaneh, Columbia University Sohini Kar, London School of Economics Kēhaulani Kauanui, Wesleyan University Tobias Kelly, Edinburgh University Naveeda Khan, Johns Hopkins University Eleana Kim, UC Irvine Laurie King, Georgetown University Philip L. Kohl, Wellesley College Dorinne Kondo, University of Southern California Nikolas Kosmatopoulos, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne Corinne Kratz, Emory University Petra Kuppinger, Monmouth College Chris Kuzawa, Northwestern University Roger Lancaster, George Mason University Barbara Larson, University of New Hampshire Richard Borshay Lee, University of Toronto Winnie Lem, Trent University Robert Leopold Krista Lewis, University of Arkansas Tania Li, University of Toronto Anders Linde-Laursen, Eastern Michigan University Ralph Litzinger, Duke University Margaret Lock, McGill University Jeffrey C. Long, University of New Mexico Catherine Lutz, Brown University Sarah Lyon, University of Kentucky Peter Magee, Bryn Mawr Pardis Mahdavi, Pomona College Saba Mahmood, UC Berkeley Lilith Mahmud, UC Irvine Sunaina Maira, UC Davis Martin F. Manalansan IV, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Paul Manning, Trent University Setrag Manoukian, McGill University Joe Masco, University of Chicago Kathryn Mathers, Northwestern University Lorand Matory, Duke University William Mazzarella, University of Chicago Carlota McAllister, York University David McMurray, Oregon State University Anne Meneley, Trent University Kalyani Menon, DePaul University Sofian Merabet, UT Austin Brinkley Messick, Columbia University Laurence Michalak, UC Berkeley Flagg Miller, UC Davis Ziba Mir-Hosseini, School of Oriental & African Studies Amira Mittermaier, University of Toronto Lamia Moghnieh, University of Michigan Annelies Moors, University of Amsterdam Viranjini Munasinghe, Cornell University Martha Mundy, London School of Economics Donna Murdock, University of the South Nadine Naber, University of Illinois at Chicago Diane M. Nelson, Duke University Jan Nespor, Ohio State University Fari Nzinga, New Orleans Museum of Art Michelle Obeid, Manchester University Marcia Ochoa, UC Santa Cruz Aihwa Ong, UC Berkeley Sherry Ortner, UCLA Arzoo Osanloo, University of Washington Esra Özyürek, London School of Economics Mark Padilla, Florida International University Stefania Pandolfo, UC Berkeley Ayşe Parla, Sabancı University Heather Paxson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Michael G. Peletz, Emory University Michael Perez, University of Washington Julie Peteet, University of Louisville Mark Peterson, Miami University, Ohio Deborah Poole, Johns Hopkins University Elliot Prasse-Freeman, Yale University David H. Price, Saint Martin’s University Nicolas Puig, Institut de recherche pour le développement James Quesada, San Francisco State University Lucinda Ramberg, Cornell University Junaid Rana, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Vyjayanthi V. Rao, New School for Social Research Anupama Rao, Columbia University Amal Rassam, CUNY Queens College Gayatri Reddy, University of Illinois at Chicago François Richard, University of Chicago Mubbashir Rizvi, Georgetown University Lisa Rofel, UC Santa Cruz Kaifa Roland, University of Colorado Danilyn Rutherford, UC Santa Cruz Moain Sadeq, Qatar University Christa Salamandra, Lehman College CUNY Ruba Saleh, School of Oriental & African Studies Elaine Salo, University of Delaware Aseel Sawalha, Fordham University Rosemary Sayigh Kirsten Scheid, American University of Beirut Samuli Schielke, Zentrum Moderner Orient (Berlin) Daniel Segal, Pitzer College Noa Shaindlinger, University of Toronto Sima Shakhsari, Wellesley College Seteney Shami, Arab Council for the Social Sciences Shalini Shankar, Northwestern University Jonathan Shannon, Hunter College Aradhana Sharma, Wesleyan University Kim Shively, Kutztown University David Shorter, UCLA Gerald Sider, CUNY Graduate Center Audra Simpson, Columbia University Susan Slyomovics, UCLA Llyn Smith, Humboldt State University Gavin Smith, University of Toronto Claudio Sopranzetti, Oxford University Emilio Spadola, Colgate University Judith Stevenson, CSU Long Beach Ann Laura Stoler, New School for Social Research Ian Straughn, Brown University Ajantha Subramanian, Harvard University Mayssun Succarie, Brown University Richard Tapper, School of Oriental & African Studies Mick Taussig, Columbia University Lucien Taylor, Harvard University Susan Terrio, Georgetown University Sitara Thobani, Oxford University Miriam Ticktin, New School for Social Research Anna Tsing, UC Santa Cruz Gina Ulysse, Wesleyan University Gary Urton, Harvard University Bregje van Eekelen, Erasmus University Kamala Visweswaran, UT Austin Neha Vora, Lafayette College Christine Walley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Shannon Walsh, City University of Hong Kong Margot Weiss, Wesleyan University Harvey Weiss, Yale University Paige West, Columbia University Mark Westmoreland, Stockholm University Livia Wick, American University of Beirut Jessica Winegar, Northwestern University Lisa Wynn, Macquarie University Angela Zito, New York University

In addition, 46 scholars have elected to sign this statement anonymously.

These include at least:

30 untenured faculty

5 post-doctoral fellows

5 graduate students

You can join by sending your name and affiliation (for purposes of identification only) to anthroboycott [at] gmail [dot] com.

If you wish to sign anonymously, please write “CONFIDENTIAL” in the subject line of your email.