November 21, 2015

Contact Name: Jeff Martin

Contact Email: jmartin@americananthro.org

Contact Phone: 571-483-1163

Resolution Calling for Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions to be Placed on AAA Spring Ballot

Members attending the American Anthropological Association's (AAA) Annual Meeting in Denver yesterday voted overwhelmingly in favor of placing a resolution to boycott Israeli academic institutions on the organization's spring ballot in April. The resolution, considered by more than 1,400 members attending the AAA business meeting, will now be put to a vote by the organization's 10,000+ members for a final decision.

"We provided as much relevant information to our members as we could and used the same approach we apply to everything else, namely utilizing an anthropological framework to understand what the range of positions is and why people hold them," said outgoing AAA President Monica Heller. "We're encouraged by the turnout and expect our members to continue an informed and respectful conversation regarding the issue."

The resolution to be placed on the spring ballot calls for the AAA to refrain from formal collaborations with Israeli academic institutions only and not individual scholars.

The vote came after the Task Force on AAA Engagement with Israel/Palestine issued a report listing recommendations as to how the organization might best engage with the issues concerning Israel/Palestine. The report included a wide range of measures that could be adopted and strongly urged that the "no action" option be taken off the table.

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Founded in 1902, the American Anthropological Association, with more than 10,000 members, is the world’s largest professional organization of anthropologists. The Association is dedicated to advancing human understanding and tackling the world’s most pressing problems.